Opening the door for the first time!

Our helpers!

Within a week, we had unpacked our belongings and started planning out another phase to our life together. We knew that there were things we wanted to change about our house to make it a little more us and a little less the couple that we purchased it from.

Home Sweet Home

We quickly replaced the carpet in the basement.

Followed (of course) by painting the basement.

Work in progress

We got rid of all of the nasty curtains.

And purchased new blinds.

We took down the tacky light fixtures.

And hung new ones.

We stripped some wallpaper.

And built a garden.

Then, we realized we needed a fire pit.

Somewhere along the way, we decided to get married.

We even went on a honeymoon.

We re-grouted our shower floor.

And painted the kitchen.

We even got a new roof (which was quite the hefty purchase).

We started replacing appliances.

Toilets.

Dishwashers.

Washers and Dryers. (pictures to come!)

We fixed electrical and plumbing problems.

We greeted a new member to our family (Hi, Bailey boy!)

And said a sad farewell to friends.

We got new furniture, a new fireplace, lots of rugs, and (even) a couple TVs.

No new house can come without new tools. So, those were purchased as well.

We walked around our house this weekend celebrating each small change that we’ve made. As we listed them out, it sure seemed like we’ve done a ton. And although we’re looking forward to continually shaping our house into the home we want it to be, we try to fully appreciate the way it is today.

WHAT A YEAR!

It’s sure nice to see you. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? The computer that I normally blog from crashed a few weeks ago. For a few days I tried to blog on my lunch breaks at work. However, I quickly found out that my new job offers exercise classes during lunch. While on a hunt to get back on a healthy living track, I started giving up my lunch break for some exercise. Hence.. the no blog thing.

Anywho… Here’s a photo recap of our life recently.

We got a boat load of wood delivered.

And we organized it….

We spent some time car shopping… annnnd bought a new commuter car.

It’s nice. We kinda like it. Just a tad.

We took a little trip.

 The doggies have been little crazy nut balls like normal.

Welp, I think that’s all the major things.

Smaller less important things include: I lost a bunch of photos through the big computer crash. I’m pretty bummed about it. Alex and I have been working out like mad dogs and eating super healthy (besides, you know… all those holidays). I always think that results will come immediately, so I’m trying not to get discouraged when I see the same number on the scale day after day. In addition, we watched both of our teams lose in the playoffs. It was dreadful.

Okay — that’s really everything!

]]> http://lifewithacrazypup.com/2012/01/19/photo-life/feed/ 3 lifewithacrazypup DSC_0608 DSC_0613 DSC_0625 DSC_0629 DSC_0709 DSC_0715 DSC_0637 DSC_0707 http://lifewithacrazypup.com/2012/01/06/smoothmoves/ http://lifewithacrazypup.com/2012/01/06/smoothmoves/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:33:47 +0000 lifewithacrazypup http://lifewithacrazypup.com/?p=3292 Continue reading →]]> Happy Friday Folks!

It was a beautiful drive on my way to work this morning. I braved driving off the road to take this little snapshot for you.

No, I’m just kidding. I was stopped at a stop light. Safety first, kiddos. Didn’t they teach you anything in grade school?

• Don’t pick your nose
• Share with others
• Treat others as you would want to be treated
• And most importantly, don’t take pictures on your iPhone while you’re driving

Duh.

Last night after our Insanity workout, Alex and I met my mom, Margaret, and Kathy for dinner and drinks. We had a great time chatting away! We talked out Alex’s latest deployment, good books we’ve read lately, cooking, guns, and Mormonism. Quite the combination, huh??

Once we got home, we dropped on the bed (with the pups) and watched a few episodes of Raising Hope. After a long day, a tiring workout, good conversations, and a beer – it was the perfect way to end the night.

This morning started just as every work day does — WITH A SMOOTHIE, of course!!! I’m a smoothie kind ‘a gal. When Alex and I started dating (pre-smoothie obsession days) we bought a cheapo blender to make fruity alcoholic drinks in the dead heat of summer. As I started to perfect the art of smoothie making, the ol’ dumpy blender really wasn’t cutting it any longer. For Christmas Alex got me a super dooper high-tech fancy pants BlendTec blender. Now it takes me a whole whopping 40 seconds to whip up the most delicious breakfast ever.

Here are some of my smoothie tricks –

• NO ICE!!!
• Use all frozen fruit
• Milk makes your smoothie taste more like a milkshake, whereas juice makes it taste more like a traditional fruit smoothie
• Greek yogurt makes your smoothie way (for lack of a better word) smoother than regular yogurt
• You should add your ingredients in this order for the perfect blend:

1. – liquids
2. – semi-solids (yogurt)
3. – solids (spinach, non frozen fruit)
4. LAST IN – anything completely frozen

My favorite smoothie right now is a combination of: milk, vanilla Greek yogurt, (FROZEN) grapes, 1-2 bananas, cherries, blackberries, a splash of honey, and wheat germ.

The wheat germ gets completely ground up and you would have no idea it’s in there. Whenever I have the chance to add some extra fiber into my food – I’m down!

Step 1

Step 2

All Done!

I think Alex regrets buying me the BlendTec. He’s stuck eating liquid breakfasts for months. Poor Baby.

Weekend Plans

Tonight we’ll be busting out Insanity before grabbing a drink (it is Friday after all)! We’ll probably be spending a good portion of the weekend car shopping. Wahoo! If the car shopping doesn’t work out in our favor – we may bust out our painting supplies!

What are your weekend plans??

And to leave you….

Here’s a little peak into our life lately.

Christmas was wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve at my sister-in-law’s house. Dinner was delicious and the company was even better. We ate too much and consequently drank too much wine. There’s just something about holidays and eating too much food, isn’t there?

Christmas day followed in the same footsteps. We spent the day at my grandmother’s house surrounded by family. Alex was the life of the party and in turn – I was the one to drive home

We’ve had some furniture delivered over the last few weeks. In addition, we purchased some rugs, light fixtures, a TV, and a new fireplace insert.

I’d like to give you a tour of our new stuff.. Iphone photos won’t due though. We’ll have to touch back on that later.

Alex also has a new hobby. He bought an old wooden beam (White Oak) that was a support beam in an old, old house. He’s been sanding it down to create an awesome mantel for us. Although it still has a lot of work left – it’s already looking great! I can’t wait to see what it looks like over our new fireplace.

We’ve been spoiling the pups (Duh!). Most evening after we get home from work, this is what the remainder of our nights look like.

See the torture I’ve been going through?? I could either sit down to crank out a bunch of blog posts or I could cuddle with these guys next to the fire and drink hot chocolate. Which would you choose??

Exactly.

Besides that – my new job is still going swimmingly. I’ve said this before (and I’m sure you’ll hear it a million more times) but having a job that you are challenged by daily and thoroughly enjoy can completely change your life. If you’re unhappy in your current job role, I promise you — it will not hurt to look around and see what else is out there!

On another note, I’ve been completely engrossed by all of Steig Larsson’s books. I’m currently on the third (and final –Boo!) book of the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest is certainly not disappointing me! Alex humored me and accompanied me to the movies – and guess what – he liked it too! This is the kind of series that I know that I’ll feel devastated by when it’s done. Have you read any good books lately? I need something equally as consuming to read once these are finished.

Let’s see, we’ve talked about Christmas, the doggies, the husband, the house projects, books, and my job. What have we missed? The weather?

It’s freezing. Literally – FA-REEZING!

Fitness?

After a holiday hiatus, Alex and I are back to doing the Insanity workouts each night. It feels great to get back into a workout routine even though my calves feel like they are permanently on fire. I found this little gem in our First Aid box at work. Right now my sore muscles are mentholly fresh. Please note the “No unpleasant odor” label on the bottom of the packet.

Lies.

My cube smells like a mix of BenGay and rubbing alcohol. Kinda gross and definitely unpleasant.

I think that covers everything for now. What have you been up to lately?

Husband’s back.

Tell your friends.

Guess who’s back, guess who’s back, guess who’s back….

Two suburban dogs go round the outside.

Round the outside, round the outside…

Yay! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA for the last week. A husband coming home from a deployment seems to make you just a tad busier than normal…

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program shortly!

Hunter was an only child dog for two years before Bailey came into our household. Instead of acting jealous or aggressive, he simply took Bailey under his wing. Hunter watches over Bailey, he cares for him, he follows him around, and (more importantly) plays with him nonstop.

The affection is not one sided though. Bailey adores his big brother too. It’s really cute.

Look at this little gem.

The little numbskulls! They decided not to hang out with Momma tonight. They’re still hanging out in the bedroom just like this.

Besides taking pictures of the dogs all day, I did a ton of cleaning! I’m always in shock as to how much dog hair these two mutts produce. I can sweep and vacuum every day and that’s still not enough.

I also juiced ten limes.

I used the juice of two limes and some of yesterdays jalapenos and made some glorious salsa.

I also washed not only our sheets but our duvet and extra pillow covers as well.

I also scrubbed bathrooms, washed rugs, and sorted/filed/shredded mail.

I had planned to bake cookies and wrap presents tonight but I’m losing steam. My feetsies  hurt, my mind is tired, and it’s getting late. (Yes, 8 o’clock is late for me) – I guess all that good stuff will have to wait for tomorrow night! I’m thinking about a hot bath, a good book, and then BED!

Oh by the way – I just check on the dogs. They’ve moved a tad.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and have a wonderful week lying ahead of you.

That’s me, in case you didn’t realize .  I’m not sure, maybe you’re new in town. Maybe you have amnesia. Or maybe you just stumbled upon my blog my Googling “fast hunter running.” Yes my friend, you came to the right place. Although your intentions were probably to find a picture of an actual hunter running – maybe after an animal? Why? I’m not sure. But you found a doggy named Hunter running instead.

ANYWAY – I’ve been busy.

This morning both mutts got a bath (shampoo and conditioner!) followed by a date with the Furminator (aka the best de-shedding tool ever made). Sidenote: I refuse to link any products to outside websites.. seeing as that’s how my blog was previously suspended. LAME.

Now they’re nice and clean. And soft. And pretty. No big deal.

I tried to take a crap ton of pictures of the two of them, but they refused to stop playing for even one moment.

Dang dogs.

Then I cleaned some of our crystal.

You really have no idea how dirty crystal is until you wash it. Now it’s nice and shiny again. Score.

Next up — I cut up at least two dozen jalapenos. One of Alex’s basic necessities in life is SALSA. You better believe that we go through a heck of a lot of salsa in our household. Yesterday I found jalapenos in bulk for less than $4. Of course I had to buy them! I sliced them in half and froze ‘em!

Now they rest with some of our frozen goodies. Just in this one section of our freezer you can see:

• Bubba Burgers (you never know when you are going to have company!)
• Ground Beef
• Whole Grain Bread
• Potato Rolls
• Tortillas
• English Muffins
• A grocery bag full of Halloween candy
• Pie Crusts
• Crescent Rolls
• Sausage and Bacon!
• Lunch Meat
• Pork Roast
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• Beef Stock
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Tons of veggies
• Spanakopita

After my choppin’ I headed to the salon with my mom. We both got a much needed hair cut!

Tomorrow – the doggies and I have laundry, dusting, sweeping, and some basic tidying. I’m so domestic, it’s sickening. (Riiiight ) I’m also thinking about making some cookies, granola, and/or other sugary treats.

See ya later!

I’m continuing along down my Christmas spirit path this evening. Another straight to TV Christmas movie with poor acting and a one dimensional storyline is currently gracing my screen. I’m lovin’ it.

Amazingly, I had the day off work today. I’ve been working a 9/80 schedule. If you aren’t familiar with this type of schedule, you basically work 80 hours in 9 days instead of 10. After working 9 looong days, it was so nice the be at home today!

I spent some quality time with my brother, Justin, my mom and these two boys.

Do you have any fun weekend plans?

The boys and I will spend the majority of the weekend doing some work around the house. We have a very special house “guest” coming in the next few days so we have lots of preparation! I’m greatly looking forward to introducing him/her to you. WAHOO!

Enjoy your beautiful Friday night!

Sometimes you met because you worked together.

Or maybe you lived in the same apartment complex.

Who knows, you may have even been in the same sorority.

Or you grew up together and shared each other’s fears about growing older and leaving home.

Something happens along the way though.

You all grow up.

You become adults. Along with the joy that comes with living on your own, comes responsibility. Each of you begin to get your footing in the world.

You graduate. You get a job. Some of you may lose loved ones and grow up faster than your friends. You find girlfriends/boyfriends. Heck, you might even break up and find yourself a new one. Then, you all find a spouse and settle down.

Hopefully you’ll find those friends that even if you don’t talk every week or even every month, once you do – you’ll fall right back into the swing of things.

The problem lies when all of these little steps on your journey don’t coincide with those of your friends. One day you may realize that the friends you’ve known for years don’t have much in common with you anymore.

When that precious flame of friendship begins to die, how do you rekindle it? Especially when you each have your own lives, different friends, new interests and no longer live across the street/upstairs/down the road.

Is it ever too late to reach out to old friends and try to patch the greatness that once was? Or sometimes do you have to realize that while you may not have much in common now, hopefully in a few years you’ll both grow up a bit and rekindle?

What if when you do reach out to those friends and your attempts are ill received? Do you simply give up?

To all of my dear friends that I’ve lost contact with over the years, I miss each and every one of you. I whole heartedly hope that you are doing well and have found a deep happiness in your life. Maybe I haven’t reached out to you for fear of rejection, but I assure you that I think of you all often. I certainly would not be the person I am today without knowing you.

And with that – I say goodnight! (The doggies do too!)

All of the pictures were taken by Joey and his assistant from J&S Productions. I loved them from the moment that I spoke to them over the phone. They were an absolute joy to work with on our wedding day. I never felt like there was some intruder simply watching us say “I do.” I would, without a doubt, recommend them to everyone I know!

Let’s get started!!

We did it!!