Griffin is 5...

Our baby is 5. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane.

We purchased Griffin in the Spring of 2007. Doug had wanted a German Shorthair pup forever and ever. I had only ever had labs. Doug won, because of how unbelieveably freakin' cute pictures of German Shorthair puppies were. We did some research, decided that Shorthairs were family friendly, trainable, and smart, and called a few numbers. Then we waited. Waited. and Waited. Until he was finally seven and a half weeks old, at which point, we drove three hours and picked him up. And proceeded to fall in love.

He was so adorable.

Just look at that face.

                                                                       And that bottom.

                                                      He was just so clumsy and adorable.

                                                                                 
                                                              Then he started to get bigger...

                                                                       And just as cute.

                                                          Then he GREW....

And she grew : )

And now he is just our 5 year old old old man. Who likes to nap. Alot.

Now this post makes me want another German Shorthair. He was just so cute. Happy Birth-month Griffin!

My Clothes Have Never Been Washed in Tide.

I apologize for the complete randomness of this post. I just watched a Tide commercial and it got me thinking. My clothes have never been washed in Tide. Ever.
Growing up, I was the oldest of four girls. My dad was a teacher and my mom worked odd jobs at random shifts. We were got by. As we got a little older, my mom got a regular job and things got a little easier for my family. As we got older however, we just got more expensive. When I went to college, I couldn’t afford Tide. I opted to spend my money on other things, things that don’t really belong in this post.

Now that I’m married and it’s just my husband and I, I could probably afford Tide. I could probably afford new furniture. Thanks to my wonderful upbringing, I have never even thought about buying Tide, though I frequently think about buying new furniture. Thank you, parents for instilling in me a stinginess that I will never outgrow. Thank you for teaching me to save money and for the difference between need and want.

I have nothing against people who use Tide. This is not a Tide-bashing post. It is simply an observation. Take it for what it’s worth :) .

Random Photo of the Week

I love this picture. I think I took it last Spring.

Random Photo Observations:

1. Our cat (truly it’s Doug’s cat) really believes in the depths of his soul that he is a dog.

2. Our dogs tolerate our cat because he is legit.

3. This is the scene on our porch any given morning. They wake up, they do their business, they come back and watch the world go by for awhile.

4. This is their best behavior.

5. Our lawn needs (needed) help.

6. I really believe that our cat was the inspiration for the movie Puss N’ Boots. Just ask my sister.

Oh the joy of pets.

Bad Blogger, Good Bread

Bad blogger. Busy blogger is more like it, but whatever. 

No excuses, however, can I just mention how extremely excited I am that I will be done with school in August. Done. Over. Completed. CAN’T. WAIT. 

Anyway, I’ve been busy. That is no excuse, because there are no excuses here. However, I need to get back into a rhythm. A routine, so to speak. I have heard that those exist.

What have I been doing lately. Anyone out there who can remind me? Seriously, the month of January was a whirlwind. Truly. Madly. Deeply. As you can see it ran by so fast that I lost my mind. Not really. I lost a few other things though. A button off of my favorite pea coat, the flashlight that is always by the front door, and my phone charger. Minor compared to my mind, but still. 

So, what to do when you don’t have time to think? Bake. Obviously. Yesterday I made our favorite zucchini bread recipe and it turned out fabulously, as it does every single time. I’m not kidding, it is like impossible to screw this up. I modified this recipe from one I found in my Grandmother's old stash.  This recipe, as with most I make, was fairly basic and fairly easy. I used shredded zucchini that I had frozen last summer.

Here is the recipe:

2 C. sugar                             1 tsp salt                             

1 C. Canola Oil                    1 tsp baking soda

3 eggs                                   ¼ tsp baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract              1 tsp cinnamon

3 C. flour                              2 C. shredded zucchini

Optional: Apples, nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips…whatever you want to throw in. 

Pre heat oven to 350*

Beat oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until blended. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into sugar mixture until moist. Stir in zucchini and optionals. Transfer batter to two greased bread pans. Bake at 350* for 55 minutes.

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Merry Late Christmas to Me!

We have been thinking about getting a tablet for quite awhile. I had narrowed down my choice to a Toshiba Thrive about a month ago. Lucky me, Amazon knew I was looking for one and notified me about two weeks ago that they had refurbished models available for about 2/3 the cost of a brand new model. I was all over that.

Actually, I was too busy at work to be all over that, so Doug had to do the ordering. Same difference. It came in the mail today and I have been obsessing over it for the past three hours or so. So many cool features. I can't wait to figure it all out.

Here is what I ordered...






(I am part of the Amazon Affiliates program, all opinions are my own and I was not paid or perked to order this tablet).

Observation of the Week

Observations for the day:


1. Grab your jacket when the fire alarm goes off at work.

2. Eat breakfast, in case you are stuck outside without a jacket when the fire alarm goes off.

3. Wear good shoes, even if you don’t expect to be stuck outside when the fire alarm goes off.

It’s a bit chilly to be weathering the elements in regular clothing and slip on shoes :) Hope you are all having a great week!

Shelf Love

Sometimes I have the best ideas. Frequently, actually. Although that’s my own opinion only. Anyway, sometimes I have these great ideas. Usually, I forget about them shortly after they materialize. Sometimes, however, I remember to discuss them with my husband.

Speaking of my husband, I have to thank him for this one, my idea would never have come to life without him, not to mention turn out so great. Come to think of it, let's review what this would have looked like without him, had I remembered that I wanted to do it in the first place.

1. The shelf would not have been square. On top of that, it probably would have been nailed together with painters nails instead of grooved and glued together with the appropriate wood glue.

2. The paint would not have been so nice and even. There is a good chance that it would have been globby and drippy and gross, because after two coats, I would have been bored or gotten distracted by a load of laundry. On top of that, I would have never even thought to sand the shelf before painting it.

3. It would not be hanging on the wall right now, because I would be too afraid to put holes in the dry wall right next to my front door where everyone walks. Why be afraid, you ask? Prior experience. Sometimes it takes me several holes to get it right.

I never claimed to be a carpenter, a wood working expert, and definelty not a perfectionist. I married one instead :) But, back to the project at hand...

Quite awhile ago, I was reading Ana White’s blog and saw this great shelf that she made. She makes it sound so simple, I thought it would be a great idea. Of course, I had some modifications in mind, but I envisioned it hanging nicely next to our front door. Cue the husband. I explained it to Doug, emailed him the link, and drew a picture of my modified shelf. 

Six weeks later….ta da… Doug created a solid oak shelf ready to be finished and hung.

First we coated it with a spray primer….

Then several thin coats of Rustoleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover 2x spray paint in Dark Walnut. I love this stuff. To the untrained eye, this paint looks no different than a nice walnut stain, with half the work and none of the clean up.

Finally, we added some cheap hooks from Menards. Doug hung the shelf tonight and I am so happy with it. I think it looks fantastic and it is already very functional. With our house lacking an entry way, any type of storage space at the door is a plus.

I think it turned out great. I am so happy to have more functional space by the front door.

Now that this is finished, I need to get busy and think of something else for him to do. Winter doesn't last forever.

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