Weekend Fun

So much went on this weekend! I hit the first Ogden Farmers Market of the season. I got there half an hour after it all started and the produce was already selling out! I managed to snag some tomatoes, but I was really there for the kettle corn.

It's also a tradition for me to stop in and see my friend Candice and get some amazing henna done!

There is so much to love about the Farmers Market. Aside from all the stalls, I always run into friends, and I always get to meet new doggies.

That's Boss. He's a baby English Bulldog!! I just had to snorgle him! His owner was very patient with me. The good news is that he belongs to somebody running a stall, so I'll get to see him next week too!!



If you've read the last few posts you'll remember that we let my oldest boy get a guinea pig. That has been a saga of its own.

What we thought was simple hiccups turned out to be a respiratory infection. We woke up Saturday morning to a dead baby pig. It was very, very upsetting. Joshua took it like a trooper though. Of course he cried a little, but he didn't act out or anything. I'm really proud of him.

He decided that it was a sign that we shouldn't ever get an animal from a pet store, adoption is the only way to go. Since we'd only picked up the guinea pig on Tuesday, there was a warranty. Josh took the money and adopted another female pig. This time a full grown, mellow adult.

Her name is Lily, and she's a complete sweetheart. Even my husband has fallen in love. That's him cuddling her in the picture.

She's still a little skittish, but she's eating and drinking well. She even took a strawberry I gave her! For the love of Pete, please let this one live!



This weekend I also had the chance to spend some time with my good friend Jen. She lives in Wisconsin now, but she came back into town to get some work done on her house so she can put it on the market.

It was great to see her again, she is as beautiful as ever, and it was so nice catching up. I'm bummed that she's going to sell her house though, as long as she had that I felt like she had ties to this town. Now the only excuse to visit is Tona Sushi and of course all the people here who love her!

Polish Removal and a Shopping Spree

After my nail disaster I painted my nails with another $1 WalMart polish L.A. Colors Color Craze NP541 Candy Sprinkles. I thought it was fun and since it was a dollar I just had to get it.

I knew I'd be redoing things pretty quickly so I didn't bother with a top coat, just one coat of my normal base and two coats of the polish. It's a jelly or gelish, whatever they call it. A semi-sheer color with glitter in it. I didn't do the normal daubing technique like I usually would with a glitter, I just brushed this one on like a normal polish. It worked fine that way, and I am pleased with the polish. It didn't last very long before chipping, but without a top coat I don't know if it's the polish that's the problem or just lack of top coats. 

Speaking of glitter polishes, they are a giant pain in the butt to remove. The polish remover can't penetrate the polish under the metal flakes, so it just doesn't come off as easily. Pinterest (the place I love) is full of pictures of people wrapping their hands in aluminum foil to remove gel and glitter polishes. I thought I might as well give it a try!

You can see how well it took the polish off my thumb and forefinger, pretty much one swipe and it was gone. 

It works great!

It feels a little weird to have alien-robot hands, and I only do one hand at a time so I can still do things. It also gets weirdly warm. I'm not sure if it's the chemicals in the polish remover or just the cotton and foil insulating things. It doesn't hurt, it's just weird. 

First, I tear five strips of aluminum foil and get five cotton balls. I apply polish remover to a cotton ball, put the remover side to my nail, then wrap the foil around it all. I've started with my thumb and I've started with my pinkie, there really doesn't seem to be a difference. I just have to keep it on long enough. I keep forgetting to time how long I leave it on, but I'd say it's between 5 and 10 minutes. 

Now, the reason I didn't post all this earlier is because Tuesday was a bit of a crazy day. 

First, I met up with my friend Tiia Lin at Ulta. Where my weakness is nail polish, Tiia's is makeup. Unlike me, however, she has actual training. I highly recommend you check out her Facebook, her blog and her videos. 

Tiia helped me pick out colors, let me hold her adorable baby, and as we were checking out she said she had a present for me! When we went out to her car she handed me a bag full of nail polish!! I love this woman!! 

L to R: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Whirlwind White, Color Club Dark'n Stormy, Color Club Mod In Manhattan, and Nail Rock Nail Velvet Navy

In addition to those polishes Tiia gave me, I bought a bunch of my own. With the sale going on and the coupon I got 5 polishes for under $9!! It was great!! 

L to R: Essence Colour & Go 147 Miss Universe, Ulta Salon Formula Diva, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear 481 Breezy Blue, Ulta Salon Formula Indigo-Go Girl, Pixel 233 Oh Golly Gee!!

I'm already working on a new look with my new polishes, I'll post more soon!

The other thing that kept me busy is that we welcomed a new addition to our family. 

She's still scared and spends most of her time hiding. We've seen her out to eat and drink though, so that's good. 

This little lady is named Summer, and she belongs to my middle kid Joshua. He's been working his butt off this summer, helping his dad with side work and helping me here at the house. We ask a lot of him, and he rises to the challenge. 

My husband and I decided that he's shown enough responsibility to be in charge of another life, so we agreed he could get a guinea pig. I had guinea piggies growing up, so I know what kind of challenges he's likely to face. He did a lot of research and decided that he wanted a female and a baby. He thought about adopting, but he really wants to train it and the sites he visited told him that starting with a baby is easier. 

He's doing really well so far, and going very slowly with her. He had me scoop her out of the carrying box and into her cage so that she won't associate him with anything negative. He left her completely alone for 24 hours and even then all he did was lay his hand in her cage with a treat for a few minutes. For an 11 year old kid with ADHD, this shows a remarkable amount of restraint! I am completely proud of him! 

Cooper

My husband Eric volunteers with the local Sheriff's department doing radio support. He really wants to volunteer with Search & Rescue, so when the opportunity to adopt a Hound/Lab mix came along we thought it sounded like the perfect dog!

Unfortunately, Eric doesn't have a whole lot of spare time so instead of a working dog for him we got a pet for me. 

This is Cooper. Eric named him after the font Cooper Black. (If I had my way he'd be named Sirius.) 

He's a super sweet dog, but he's also a pain in the butt. Let me tell you all about him. 

First of all, we had to kennel train him. He is a chewer. He also gets separation anxiety. Even with the kennel, we can't even leave the room without him getting upset. When it's bed time I either have to kennel them right as I'm going to bed or put one of the kids in my bed or he will freak out. 

He's very vocal. That's the hound in him. He knows when it's time to get up and he will whine until we let him out of the kennel. There is no such thing as sleeping in. If somebody gets up and lets him out then I can grab a few more hours, otherwise I'm up at 6:00 every morning. Oh, and he doesn't understand Daylight Savings Time. It takes him a few weeks every fall to adjust. Not fun for me. 

Did I mention he's a chewer? Oh yeah. Anything left down is fair game. He rips apart normal dog toys. Even ones made for "Power Chewers". The only thing we found that he can't completely destroy is deer antlers. They're pricey, but worth it. We have a hard time keeping him out of the garbage. If he isn't right next to me then it's a good bet he's gotten something out of the trash and he's hiding somewhere trying to eat it. 

He has an affinity for rocks. I can't even begin to understand this one. Every once in a while he'll come in from outside carrying a rock about the size of my fist. 

This is one of his smaller ones.

He'll just carry it around the house. Sometimes he brings it to me. When I'm knitting he'll try and bury it in my lap. Usually he curls up next to it. Eric hates it, but I actually like when he's rock obsessed. It keeps him from getting into other kinds of mischief. When he's got a rock in his mouth it means he isn't eating something else! Oddly, he doesn't chew on the rocks. Thankfully! I don't know we could afford to deal with broken teeth.

Lately we've been having a problem with Cooper's ears. He shakes his head so hard that the tips of his ears split and bleed. I keep finding blood splatters all over the walls. Dexter would have a field day analyzing this place. (We've taken him to the vet and there isn't much we can do about it.) 

We clean his ears, then bandage them. Unfortunately the bandages don't stay on their own. Either he shakes them off or sits down and scratches them off. We have to lay his ears down and wrap them against his head. 

First we started with an elastic bandage, but he would rub his head against the floor until it scooted down his head far enough to let his ears out. Now we use athletic tape. 

I feel so bad for him, but it's the only way to get his ears to heal! 

He's a major pain, but he's also great to have around. He's a world class cuddler. If I let him, he sleeps right on top of me. If not on top, then as close as he can get. 

This was a day when Joey was home sick from school. 

He's great with the kids. He'll fetch a ball until I'm scared he's getting heat exhaustion. When we take him to the dog park he becomes a dog possessed. All we have to do is turn the corner heading towards the dog park and he starts going nuts. We have to muzzle him when we're in the car. He just gets so excited!

Basically that sums him up. He's just so excited. All the time! 

Pubbies!!

No really. I do. All the time. I frequently interrupt myself to point out a dog. I have been known to pull my car over just so I can stop some poor, innocent person who is out walking their dog.

The last dog I pulled over to meet was an adorable gray poodle named Velvet Blue. She is a certified therapy dog, so I guess she's used to crazy people. She was a doll and put up with my baby talk and cooing with great poise.

Yes, I am one of those people. I remember the name of a person's dog and forget the name of that person. I have friends on Facebook who I only know because I fell in love with their dog. I started a Facebook group for the local dog park. I make playdates for my dogs with strangers. I go to PetSmart or Petco with the flimsiest excuses just in the hopes that I might meet more dogs.

I have a few breeds that I love more than others, but that just means I'm more likely to gush over that dog and spend more time asking questions to the owner. If it's remotely canine and on a leash I will ask to pet it. (Of course I always ask first. I have no problem standing back and baby talking to a dog that the owner doesn't want petted.)



Note: The art for this post came from the tumblr Nation of Amanda. This is the link for her store. 

Dog Park

We went to the dog park after school today.  The weather was perfect for it and there were a ton of dogs there. Of course, I forgot my camera!  I charged up the battery yesterday and forgot to put it back in my bag.  D'oh!

We had lots of fun.  There were a bunch of puppies there today.  A five month old Rottweiler that I just wanted to squeeze, an adorable eight month old Labrador/Australian Mix, and a very hyper nine month old Golden that kept knocking my kids down.  So stinking cute. They were all so soft, especially the Rottie. Gotta love that puppy softness! They definitely made me glad I don't have a puppy though!  They had way more energy than I'd be able to handle.

One lady came and brought her Husky/Malamute mix and German Shepherd.  The Husky mix looked just like a wolf.  He was gorgeous and huge!  He was just a big sweetheart and a total wimp.  It was so cute!  Joshua kept trying to play with him but he was just scaring the pants of the poor dog.  Josh would yell his name and go running after him like we do with Leela, but the poor Husky was just scared and would run away from Josh with his tail tucked between his legs.  Josh eventually figured out that if he threw a ball then he could get the dog to play.

Leela doesn't really play much at the dog park.  She does run around and get some exercise though, and that's what's important.  She likes playing with other dogs but they have to really bug her to get her to play with them.  It takes her a while to warm up to it.  She especially likes playing with little dogs.  She likes to chase them down and then chew on their ears. Not hard, she doesn't hurt anybody, just playfully.  Some of the little dogs actually like it.  It's funny, the ones who like it will get all slobbery.  Then when it dries their fur stands up like spikes.  It's so gross. I'm just glad Leela doesn't get slobbered on.  It's a lot easier to bathe a little dog than it is to wash a beast like her.

Here are a few pictures that Joshua and Bethy took back in November.  I'll try to remember my camera tomorrow and get some new shots.

Dressember Accessories

I totally wimped out on the last day of Dressember.  If I had somewhere exciting to go I'd probably have some kind of pretty outfit to wear.  Since we're just staying home tonight I'm just wearing jeans and another of my Arizona State sweatshirts.

I was up pretty early this morning in order to take delivery of my friend's doggy.  My friend had a death in the family and had to leave town suddenly.  I told her I'd take her puppy for the day.  She was here about 6:30.  I didn't feel like getting fully decked out that early, so I just tossed on some jeans in the hope that I would get dressed later. Totally didn't happen.

So here I am.  One couch holder downer on each side.  Here's a couple shots of my friend's dog, she's a sweetie.  In the first one you can see the aforementioned sweatshirt.

In the second you can see how seriously she takes the task of holding down that couch. Wild horses couldn't drag her from her duties. Bacon... now that's a different story.

She really is a sweetheart.  Eric came home and she was cuddling with him in a matter of minutes.  Never met him before to complete lapdog in seconds.  Now he can't keep her off him!

Since I bailed on Dressember I thought I'd take some pictures of my jewelry, just the stuff I wore this month.  My full body pictures kind of leave the accessories out and I really want to show them off a little.  Especially since I made some of them!  I apologize for the quality of the pictures.  Shaky hands and close ups are not a good combination.

Opal Ring: 10th Anniversary gift from Eric

Cameo: I made it with pieces from Findings Victoria on Etsy

Faux Pearl Brooch: Garage sale, I think it was less than a quarter.

Butterfly Brooch: Target

Pocket Watch: Victorian Trading Company

Grey Freshwater Pearl Bracelet:  A gift from my fabulous sister.

Pearl Necklace and Earrings: A gift from Eric on our Wedding Day.

Silver 'Globe' Earrings: Same Yard Sale as the faux pearl brooch, I think they were ten cents.

Gold Hoops: I think I got them at a mall kiosk but I can't remember.

Opal Necklace and Earrings: A gift from Eric. 

Shell Necklace: I bought as a souvenir from the cruise my mom took my sister and I on back in 2006.  I got it from the Hilo Hattie store in San Diego.

The four earrings on the left are all made by me.  The gold ones on the right were purchased from Feather and Rust on Etsy.  I thought displaying them on a glass of Martinelli's was appropriate.

Well, there you go.  Dressember has come to an end.  I really enjoyed myself and I plan to do it again next year.  I know I didn't do a fantabulous job dressing up every day, I'm hoping I'll do better next time.

Happy New Year everybody!  

Stay safe and I hope your 2012 is amazing and wonderful! 

Late

I'm running pretty late with this post.  I had my picture taken for Dressember around 11:00 yesterday but I didn't sit right down and post like I usually do.  Then I took the kids to Wal-Mart to spend their gift cards that they got for Christmas from my parents.  

That was quite the ordeal.  They absolutely love getting gift cards.  The problem is that my kids are not exactly the most decisive. There wasn't one big thing they wanted to get, they wanted lots of little things.  We kept going back and forth to the price scanner thingy so I could add up things and make sure they had enough on their cards.  Then they'd find something else or have a new idea and the whole process would start all over again.  At one point Elizabeth found a Smurf doll with no tag that she absolutely fell in love with.  We looked all over that stinkin' store and couldn't find another one. We had to take it to Customer Service to try and find a price.  Of course, since there was no tag they had no idea either.  They asked us to finish our shopping while they tried to look things up.  That was fine except that it made it a lot harder to determine how much Bethy could spend.  Ugh.  She had to wait until we were at the checkout to make her final decisions.  I felt so bad for the people in line behind us.

By the time we got home I was completely wiped out.  Practically catatonic.  I sat down to play with my Christmas Present and didn't move for the rest of the evening. Thank goodness we were just having bratwurst for dinner.  A few minutes in the microwave and dinner is ready.  I tossed in a bag of chips and called it good.  Okay, actually I just had Josh nuke the brats and told the kids where the chips were.  Close enough.

Here I am before the shopping trip:

Luckily I was smart enough to change into my ballet flats before our shopping trip.  Those shoes are comfy, just not hours at Wal-Mart comfy.

Scarf: Crazy Horse, I think I got it at J.C. Penny.  It was years ago though, so I can't really remember.  I bought it after seeing How to Steal a Million for the first time.  If I could I would dress like Audrey Hepburn every single day.

Earrings: Another one of my creations.

Top: Wal-Mart

Skirt: Target

Leggings: Motherhood Maternity

Shoes: Wal-Mart

Since I was so late posting here's another bonus picture of my dog holding down the other couch.  

What would I do without her?  All those couches, just floating around on the ceiling.  Oh yeah and my bed.  She holds that down too. So helpful.