Laundry Room Renovations

It seems like forever ago that Arthur started on the laundry room; I'll be the first to admit we've both been slacking when it comes to remodeling the place.  He officially moved back two weekends ago, so I do expect us to start doing so much more to the place within the upcoming months.  Though, we're not completely done with the laundry room, I can't help but post pictures of the progress thus far.  I'm so happy with how it's turned out.  It's a tiny space, but it's changed so much.  It's nice to have a man so handy around.  ;-)  Tonight the walls will be primed, and tomorrow I get to paint it!  Who knew I'd ever be so excited to do manual labor?!?  Here are the before and after, as of today.  Of course, there's more work to do.  I can't wait to get this baby finished (painted and shelves installed).  Next project?  Flooring in the kitchen and dining.  Yay!

This is Arthur (fiance) putting up the sheetrock.  Before, this room was another restroom; Arthur had already taken down the medicine cabinet and old light fixture that was above it.  He has since installed a new light fixture on the ceiling.  I love it! 

 

So far this is what has been done.  Walls put up, taped up, plastered, and textured.  I'm super stoked that our laundry room is so close to being finished. 

Introducing Koda and Kenna

Someone contacted me yesterday asking if I'd be able to  take these babies off her hands.  How could I say no.  These puppies were put into a box the day they were born and set along the roadside to die.  I'll never understand some people; why allow your dog to get pregnant in the first place?!?- get her spayed!  So, here we are.  They are now 2 1/2 weeks old; the neighbor of this man very kindly took in these babies and has fed and cared for them until now.  It's a very tough job, and she needed help. 
I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to post about these two little guys.  Mainly because Kenna's health isn't the best at the moment; I'm not sure what the future holds for her.  So far, Koda seems to be doing great.  Koda, if you haven't already guessed, is the little white polar bear of a puppy.   He's always hungry (and very loud, lol).  If I let him, he would seriously down the whole bottle at feeding time.  Little Kenna is the tan puppy, a sweet girl with some health issues.  I believe the woman who had her before me, didn't understand fully how to feed a puppy.  Her breathing is a little fast and she is a little bloated.  The bottles that this woman had, had huge holes in them, making the formula just literally spill out into their mouths.  When a puppy inhales formula like this, it is very likely that the formula will get into their little lungs (which might be the case with Kenna), an infection will follow- pneumonia, and then most likely death for these babies.  While she struggles to overcome her health issues, I'm trying not to get to stressed about it.  It's hard, seeing little innocent puppies suffering.  But...she looked and sounded soooooo much better this morning.  I picked these pups up yesterday afternoon.  I don't know if it's because they're being fed properly or maybe the anti-gas (simethicone) I added to their bottles that has helped, maybe both.  I'm just crossing my fingers for a good outcome for them both.  Wish us the best of luck!  I already love these babies.  Just another week of bottles before it's time to introduce them to solid food aka mush. 

 Little girl, Kenna

My polar bear cub (little boy), Koda

Long Time No See

...But I see you now, my dear blog buddies. :) So, I rarely am on the computer these days, obviously. But since my new job and the access I have to the computer now, I am back on board (even if only for a short time).  So this year has been a big year for me- lots of changes. First of all, I became engaged on May 11th; we will be married at the end of the year on December 1st, 2012 (12-1-12). Lots of ones and twos in there. And I recently left my job as a bank teller for a new one. And though it's been tough adjusting at first, I can now say that I'm getting the hang of things and enjoying it. I mean c'mon, I'm at work right now. I've applied for several positions here in the past, but finally got a position here. It's been really exciting! Where do I work, you ask? At the Texas State Aquarium (accounting). I have really enjoyed the folks here, they've been very welcoming and friendly. It's one big happy family over here. And I have really loved spending my lunch breaks downstairs, walking around and/or sitting down admiring the beautiful creatures- otters, fish, dolphins, and sea turtles, etc. Arthur (the fiance) and I have been working on our new place (apartment), doing little renovations here and there. Next on the agenda is new flooring for the kitchen and dining area. We've already picked out the laminate planks we will be putting down (hopefully sooner than later). It's a really beautiful color of "wood" aka laminate- Soft Plum from Lowes. It's been a lot of work so far, but it's looking great! I'm very happy with how everything seems to be falling into place.  Until next time y'all!

So this is the apartment we are currently fixing up.  This was the before, wood paneling and all.  Yucky!

This is the apartment (living room) as of today.  There's so much left to do, but I feel so good that we've done a lot of work already. Hopefully by December, it will be ready for Arthur and I to move into.  Yay!!!  And enjoy some random aquarium shots below.  

There is something very calming about jellyfish.  I love just watching them move in the water.

Long Overdue

So, I meant to post this back in September, oops. I think it's clear I'm not really the blogging kind anymore; I'd like to at least try and blog maybe once a month though. I feel awful for slacking, especially since I actually had things to post about. :/ So here we are, photos of the day (and days following) the birth of Ammon. Just my mom, me, and the three little ladies for a little while. It was great to be able to be there and to spend time with them and to be there when Ammon arrived.

I can't remember exactly what day this was, but aren't they gorgeous!?!

And THE FORT. We all crawled and had a blast in this fortress of pillows and blankets. Even I had lots of fun in it. That is, until my fat booty got stuck somewhere near the toybox. Cali was not sympathetic. She just wanted me out of her way. LOL

Here's Miss Ella making her way through the maze.

Silly faces anyone?

Aubrey and I

Me and Ella

And me and Cali, doing what Cali loves best- eating candy. :)

Ella and my mom

And while the older kids were in school, my mom and I took Cali to the mall. We wanted her to have her own special day, as she was really missing her mommy and daddy by now. She loved playing in the kids' play area and even made a special friend that day.

Holly and Joey finally arrived home with the newest addition to their family, Ammon.

And finally, Joey and his son. How sweet is this picture! I asked Holly how easy the delivery was this time around, this is what she had to say:

Holly, don't kill me please, lol. The only photos I had of you were apparently all a little like this. Good times, good times. And just to show what a good sport I am, I'll post a crazy one of me too. hee hee

I got a little carried away with the candy corns. Hey, at least the kids thought it was funny. ;)

Thanks to Holly and Aubrey!

Okay, so Holly and Aubrey decided to get creative and made this little ditty the other day. Personally, I love it! Thanks you guys. It's pretty funny. :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy 29th Birthday Nicole!!! (again) tee hee hee

So, I won't say exactly how old Nicole is today (she might strangle me if I do...), but I will say it is her birthday! So Happy Birthday to my bestest friend in the whole world!!! :) Last night, a few of us gathered at Joe's Crabshack to celebrate with her. BTW, let me just say this- the necklace she is wearing is fabulous, is it not?!? She didn't want to wear it, she said it was too much; but I didn't give her a choice. I pretty much glued it to her neck. I think it is a perfect accessory to any solid colored top! So there, Nicole! Ha! And the song I chose for this special occasion I chose for a reason. When I hear this song, I always think of her.

Ain't she perdy?!?

And here's all of us but Dallas (he took the picture, thanks dude). From left to right: Misty, Katie (her butt is being grabbed by Nicole, hence the shock on her face, lol), Nicole (the b-day girl and butt- grabbin' friend of mine), and myself. Happy Birthday girlie poo! Hope today is wonderful!
Question Nicole, why did you choose Katie's bum over mine? I may never know...but I do know this- I LOVE this picture of Katie. hahahahaha

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful niece, Aubrey Ann! Today she turns 9 years old; I can't believe it's been that long since she was born. And what a wonderful little lady she is growing to be! Aubrey, you truly are a special spirit, and I feel so lucky to be your aunt. I love you so much and hope today (and everyday, of course) is just wonderful. Love always,
Aunt Tara

Welcome Baby Ammon!

AMMON DAVID
Born 9/1/2010

Of course, most everyone knows by now that my little nephew has made his debut into the world. But I still have to post it, lol. Here he is (I stole these pictures from my sis, I know she won't mind me using them), Ammon David born on September 1st (12:41pm), weighing in at 9lbs. 5oz, 21 in. long. A big healthy baby boy! I'm so in love with this little guy, he's super cute! And already letting his mommy and daddy get some sleep. He was already sleeping 4 hours straight (mom had to wake him up to feed him, lol) after just a few days. Now that's a good baby!

Mommy and baby (I LOVE this picture)

Holding Ammon for the first time

Ready to go home!...er, I think.

Click Click Click

Nicole and I went a little crazy taking photos today, oops. We gave eachother makeovers (don't we look divine?!?), and snapped away. Nice comments only allowed! lol ;) Enjoy! I know we both did.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mother's __ th birthday. Don't ask how old, I could get hurt for answering that kind of question. ;) I love you, Mom and hope this day is perfectly spectacular. Happy Birthday!!!

I don't like your face

The other day a friend of mine, Charlotte, stopped by to visit. On the way out, she decided to tell Charlie goodbye. I don't think he liked that idea. As a matter of fact, I've never seen him behave this way. They chatter when they're really angry/upset; this is the first I've heard him do it. Pretty neat, sad, and funny all at the same time. And I'm pretty sure if Charlotte had actually put her hand in the cage she may have lost it. Poor Charlie boy! :)

April Showers!

I guess this is the season for a lot of things- loud obnoxious birds, crazy pollen, and these weird mosquito type bugs. I mean they are seriously EVERYWHERE! Being the kind soul that I am (lol), I used to just try and catch them so I could release them back outside. The ones that didn't want to be caught, I took pleasure in just smashing them into the walls. I had the best of intentions, but frustration reared it's ugly head, and well, you know the rest. ;) This morning, as like most mornings, there were a couple of these guys flying around in the restroom, ugh. I started my shower and noticed one drowning near my feet, so naturally, I tried to help him drown. But then an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over me, so I had to scoop him up and set him on the shower ledge. In the process, I ripped off a couple of legs (whoopsies, my bad) but he was still alive- I promise. Anyways, I just noticed him dead right where I left him. Moral of the story: there isn't one. I just killed a bug today and thought I'd share. I think I'll flush him now.

The new pad.

I recently moved into a new place, and someone had asked recently why I hadn't posted any pictures yet. So, here ya go! Btw, I love this place; it will be hard to say goodbye when the time comes.

I finally had my TV mounted onto the wall, yay for me!

I just love to keep the blinds open, the view to the outdoors is just gorgeous. And you have to just love the faux french double doors. Beautiful!

My patio- which conveniently has a little gate; this is so convenient when the dogs have to be walked. The flowers are new, and I just planted some herbs recently too. :) You can't really tell in the photos, but there's a pretty good drop just past the doggie poo trash bin. It's neat, but I have to be extra careful never to let the dogs near it.

Just another awesome view! I've already seen what I believe to be a small fox or wild cat and a family of raccoons. I could sit on this patio for hours.

My New Favorite Recipe Blog!

I know a few of you out there have your own recipe blog, and I like them too. :) Don't hate! But I came across this one the other day and just LOVE it! I seriously printed out probably 50 recipes (and have more to print) yesterday and plan on trying them ALL out. This blog is called The Sisters' Cafe, I highly recommend you take your booty on over there and check it out. Even if you don't always like to cook or bake, this might be the blog to help inspire you to create wonderfully delicious (they have several good for you foods, too) meals without all of the hassle. I can't wait to try out every one of these. I wouldn't have ever thought a couple of years ago that I'd get so excited over recipes, but I guess things change as you get older, lol.

April Fools!

I thought I'd gotten off scott-free! No April Fools jokes came my way; boy, was I wrong! I'm known for playing small pranks around the office, so I thought I was being extra careful yesterday. I wasn't careful enough, and my co-workers got ahold of the front bumper of my car. I think the whole credit union was in on it, lol. But can you blame them???
Look at the picture below, I was able to tape this next to his name tag while he was away right before the big rush of the day. Not a single person mentioned it to him (and many many people saw it), lol. And no, this wasn't all I did. I didn't go big this year, just little random things here and there- tumbling paper towel rolls out of the cabinet, taping over the mouth piece on the telephone (it took Brenda forever to figure out why no one could hear her on the other end), replacing the copier paper, taping two dozen cups together at a co-worker's desk and filling them with water, etc.....

Someone Turns 3 Today!

And that someone would be Ms. Cali! :) I couldn't just pick one picture, so I posted several instead (lots from birthdays past). Happy Birthday to my youngest niece. I love you very much; I hope this day is an extra special one.