15 minutes to spare

The house was ready. I felt ok about them coming at 2:15. Dad called at 2:30 to say they had arrived.

Lily looks freak'n adorable. I will download and post pictures of her tomorrow. She looks like a totally different dog. Actually she almost looks like a tiny puppy of some non-descript breed. Who would have known she has such long legs. She's also much skinnier than you'd think. It's amazing what a whole lotta fur hides or adds.

I also made great progress on my "big idea" I spent part of Saturday hunting down more pieces for it. Since the groomer needed 3 hours in order to get Lily completely done I had the time on my hands. I also hit a point where I couldn't really do any more work until the Hubster did his share (removing his clothing from the guest room) so I spent Saturday night happily assembling parts of my big idea. I'm actually sort of proud of myself that not only did I get hit upside the head with this great idea but my enthusiasm for it is still going strong. Much like a few of you mentioned my great ideas usually come on like a storm and then fizzle out quite rapidly never completed. This one though, so far, still interested :-)

Sunday with the parents was fun. Dad and I sat outside for a while while the dogs played. He brought Othello, a wired haired dachshund and he fit right in. The only dog that hadn't met him was Caleb and for some reason Caleb LOVES the little guy. In fact he's become a little protective of him. It's a little funny actually. Caleb is freak'd out by my parents presence and has yet to adjust to them being here. But he took to Othello instantly and whenever my parents would pick up Othello or pet him, Caleb would start barking at them. Considering both Caleb and Lily really never had human contact their whole life but did always have dogs around they must just have an incredibly strong sense of pack. So Othello just naturally joined the pack. And as a member of the pack he has to be protected from those evil tall things with only two legs. His behavior makes sense and matches the history we know he has. It's just fascinating to watch it in action.

We watched "Saved" last night. My parents hadn't seen it. And they loved it. Mike, if you are reading this, Dad wants to make sure you have seen it. It's a pretty funny and also endearing look at being a Born Again Christian. And what it really means to be a good Christian.

Lastly, the pink flamingo joke between my dad and I escalated to new heights. I dressed up the flamingos in the yard in flowers and sunglasses just to celebrate Dad's arrival. And mom and dad presented me with a Hawaiian shirt covered in pink flamingos. And mom cross-stitched a book mark with a flamingo on it. Oh, and they also gave me a little flamingo they had found at an art show. I served Dad his dinner on a pink flamingo tray.

Pictures tomorrow. Of dressed up flamingos and "naked" puppies.

Hugs all around
Newt

2 Days

The good news:

-I cleaned up the big ugly weeds in the gardens. Well, except for the giant dandelion but I need to find our tool to pull that sucker out as it is in the middle of my ground cover.
-Kitchen is still pretty clean
-Dining room as well
-The hubster is off today and has a honey do list.

Also realized that they don't arrive till almost 3 on Sunday which is like getting a WHOLE extra day to get ready.

I'm really looking forward to taking Lily in tomorrow morning. I think she will benefit greatly from getting shaved down. I just hope she doesn't bite the groomer. I plan to have a frank and honest discussion with the groomer so she knows what could potentially happen with her. The groomer is awesome and I assume this won't be her first traumatized dog. I will be sure to take before and after pictures. :-)

And while Lily is getting groomed I get to do my favorite thing.................wander around Barnes and Noble. Ahhhh, I'm giddy just thinking about it.

So Dad was telling me he doesn't know if he wants his tattoo. He thinks he's too old and at his age it's just silly. But I'll keep working on him. Ultimately it has to be his decision though and I will respect whatever he decides to do. He did say that if he gets it he will have it put either at the top of his shoulder or the top of his arm. I will get the daughter portion at the bottom of my Phoenix tattoo which is going on my ankle.

I think this weekend I am going to try to talk the hubster into going to see POTC. Take a break from furious house cleaning and go have some fun. I think it has been out long enough that we can get our pick of seats and not have 10 zillion other people in the theater with us. I'm not a huge fan of theatre crowds.

Yesterday they told us that nature was going to unleash hell and fury on the Twin Cities. They had tornado warnings, severe storm warnings, etc. etc. etc. I even heard that storm chasers were all heading up our way because these storms were supposed to be so huge and incredibly violent.

Uh, well, blue skys and wind. That was all we had. OK, I'll be totally honest, we had one dark cloud pass over the house and it rained for all of 4 seconds. But no hell nor no fury reigned down upon us. Or even rained down upon us for that matter.

It always seems to happen that way. Prepare for the wrath of god and we get sunny and 70. Tell us we might see a drizzle or two and it's the apocalypse.

Go figure........................

So, at your job, if you were THIS wrong would you still have it in the morning or would you be taking your box of personal stuff home? I want weather man job security. Dang...............

3 Days till arrival

Wow, that made me panic just typing it. Holy crap. ***bites nails***

The Good:
Dishwasher was run, emptied and re-loaded - kitchen clean again
Dining room floor has less doggie tumble weeds after Caleb went crashing into dining room to get toy, slid on belly thus "vacuuming" up several balls of hair

Sadly, the dishwasher thing was my only accomplishment last night. I chose to wander aimlessly through Target instead (one of my favorite and most relaxing hobbies), screw around with the dogs, and read my most excellent book.

Oh, another good thing from last night: I think I mentioned earlier that we have a party planned and the musical entertainment backed out due to her commitment to be a camp councilor this summer. Bless her heart though she is going to see if one of her friends could play for us instead. So our party might yet have a harp player.

Yippee!

4 days till arrival

The Good:
The Bird cage is cleaned and moved
Lil Max the lovebird is now hanging out with us in our bedroom
The initial vacuum job has been done in the guest room
The guestroom dresser and table have been dusted
The dining room floor has only a few doggie tumble weeds blowing around
The kitchen is mostly clean but we need to run the dishwasher
The lawn has been mowed
Stinky Lily has a grooming appointment for Saturday morning
Sophie has her appointment on Monday (she'll get a bath though before they arrive)
Dog kennel is ready for little Othello's arrival

Aside from being a busy beaver last night trying to make headway on the house I don't have a whole lot to report.

Though I do have to ask you............

When you get an idea in your head and you know it's a great one. I mean a really really really great idea do you totally obsess over it and feel a need to have this idea in the works like yesterday? Cause sometimes I get ideas I like so much I loose sleep because I am so excited.

Progress and other nonsense

The Good:
Fridge and Freezer cleaned out
Upstairs bookcase dusted off and organized
Kitchen is still clean
Dining room floor is still clean
Hubster bought more space bags for bedding we need to store
Noticed that you actually could get to exercise equipment without too much problem
Invitations made up and addressed for party we are throwing for father’s day/anniversary

I won’t talk about what has yet to be done. It’s too daunting. I’ll just list the accomplishments.

I know that my folks are not coming to see the house. They figured out a long time ago that I am no June Cleaver. But I really do need to clean up enough so they at least have a place to sleep.

On to other topics.

So, I was wondering; Why do painters wear white?

Nettie’s theory is that it is like having a blank canvas. And all the painting they do helps to make that canvas colorful and bright.

What do you think?

I have just finished Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. What a wonderful story. It’s a must read if you like a little adventure, a little erotica, and a little intrigue all rolled into one package. Thanks Tink for the fabulous read.

I think I told you a while back that the highlight of the trip will be on Friday the 15th when we go on a road trip to rural Wisconsin. Hopefully Dad and I will return with new tattoos. I can’t make any promises, Dad might still back out, but he has committed to at least going out there to think about doing it. He definitely became more excited about the idea after we found the design he will get:


The symbol is Chinese for father and daughter. If he does it he will get the father part (left character) and I will get the daughter part (right character). I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am.

We also have a picnic at a local winery planned for the 16th. We were going to have musical entertainment but our harpist backed out due to her being a counselor at a scout camp. Sigh…………..So I guess I will have to load up my Ipod with Harp music and just hook it to the speakers and play that for the afternoon. It will still be fun.

Preparing for company

Countdown has started. Mom and Dad arrive on Sunday the 10th. I can’t wait.
I’ve known the exact date and time since, oh, February. So why am I looking at a disaster of a home and only 6 days to fix the situation? I am QUEEN of the procrastinators.

Here is the good, the bad, and the downright ugly:

The Good:
Kitchen is clean
Dining room floor is clean
Unsorted mail piles are significantly reduced and hidden
New shower liners and curtain is hung
Blankets and couch cover are washed and ready
As are blankets to cover chairs in living room

The Bad:
Living Room is a disaster
Stairs are not vacuumed
Basement is not cleaned up enough for easy access to gym equipment
Refrigerator has not been cleaned out
Upstairs hall needs to be vacuumed
Second floor bookcase needs to be dusted (trust me this can’t be overlooked)
Dog kennel needs to be put in guest room
Linen drawers need to be temporarily emptied so guest have place to put clothes
Need to find a place to put linens
Bird cage needs to be cleaned out
Bird needs to be moved to different room

The downright Ugly:
Guest room is covered in hubsters clothing
You can’t even see the bed they are supposed to sleep in
Once found, guest bedroom floor needs to be vacuumed
Bathrooms need to be cleaned and sanitized

I have 6 days……………….

And now for some pic's of the yard:

A Girly Shoe Moment

Sorry to do this to ya'll but I have to show you my latest find. I was giddy as a girl can get:

Daisy and lady bugs on a sneaker? I just couldn't walk away from these babies.