Friday Tunes

Day 23: A Song I Want(ed) to Play at My Wedding

This is OUR. SONG. It was going to be our first dance. >.<

Alas - it rained. There was no music at our wedding. And the band that played at our after party did not know it. Mr. T had told them something vague about Flight of the Conchords, and they had kind of learned "Leggie Blonde" but it consisted of them saying "leggie" and "blondie" a lot, to some music. A for effort?

I also didn't get a father/daughter dance, and that made me so very upset! It still does!! That one was going to be "You Are My Sunshine".

100 Days of Pictures: Day 12

Something I Love

Chairman Meow; Queen Khat

Master Splinter; Prince Vigo: Scourge of Carpathia

Okay, so it's two pictures. I seriously doubt I will ever get all four of these guys in one picture that actually looks like anything. Maybe I should get the cats little harnesses? 8} What a disaster. I'd have two dogs dragging me while I drug two cats... I'd probably just let go of the leashes and head out of state.

You'll also note Khat got a name upgrade. Since we have a chairman, a master, and a prince I felt it was only fair to make Khat royalty as well. She is the most noble of all of them. And by far the most overweight (proportionally). And Khat don't take sh*t from nobody.

100 Days of Pictures

Camping

Mr. T and I like to camp. Apparently this is not a well-known fact, since Little Hippo is always shocked when I mention I'm going camping. But maybe that's just Little Hippo being especially dense...

2011:
For our first anniversary we went to Cedars of Lebanon. It's really close to Murfreesboro, so it was easy. I think we only stayed one night?

Aren't we just precious?

2012:
Last year we went with my family to Henry Horton - it's sort of between Murfreesboro and Franklin. We were going to do a Trash the Dress session, and then get family pictures. Unfortunately my sister got a stomach bug and had to leave early. So it was just my parents and my sister's kids. And the TTD of course.

My Facebook photo albums are just a mess. I can't find any pictures of us from that camping trip that aren't from the TTD session. So I'll just use one of them, I suppose. 8} I keep meaning to get organized with my life. It keeps not happening. I think I'm going to ask for a fancy camera for Christmas this year. Better late than never to start keeping track of memories, right?

Just. Precious.

2013:
Anyway - this year we are going to have several camping opportunities. This weekend my family is going camping again (we're trying to turn it into a "thing") - this time to Tim's Ford. We have my mom's mom's family reunion in Alabama on Saturday, then we're going camping. Mr. T has to be back at work on Monday, but I'm going to stay until Tuesday. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of stories when I get back. ;)

The next weekend isn't really "camping" per say... We're going to BONNAROOOOOO! Mr. T and I have wanted to go for years, but were too poor and not interested enough in the bands to make it worth it. This year it's on. I'm including it with my camping post because we'll be sleeping in tents and probably be pretty disgusting.

For our anniversary we're going to try to go down to Atlanta to see some friends of ours and go to Six Flags. But we have to camp, too!! So now we've decided we want to try to camp in every state at least once. I guess we'll start with Georgia! We probably will have to camp more often than just our anniversary...I'd hate to be 70 and trying to pitch a tent in Alaska. >.<

100 Days of Pictures: Day 11

Something I Hate

Failing at a DIY. This was my attempt to make homemade peanut butter. Everything was going so well! Shell a pound of raw peanuts, then bake them at some temperature for 40-60 minutes. I did 45 min and...they were almost charred. That women either has a terrible oven or is at an extremely different elevation than I am. Then we had to run them through a food processor, and it all just clumped to the blade and spun around in circles with it - I eventually had to put it in the blender. But Mr. T's suggestion to add more oil to try to get the food processor to work had already been acted upon...so it is brown and extra oily, and tastes like burnt peanuts. We never made a sandwich with it and I have no clue if it's even still in the fridge. Siiiiigh... I may try this again one day. But I'm still bitter about shelling all those peanuts for no good reason. Peanut butter is not that expensive. 8P

100 Days of Pictures

100 Days of Pictures: Day 10

I do the silliest things with...

Another picture of Mr. T?! Bah! What, am I married to the man or something?! Sorry, folks - it happens. Although, it could be argued that I don't do silly things with him - I have silly things done near me when he's around. Case in point - this moment. I'm sure I was doing something lame like cleaning the bathroom...when I turn around, my husband is wearing a tiny sweater vest and no shirt. I tell him I have to get a picture, so he does....well, he does that. >.<

This is my life.

100 Days of Pictures

Halloween

Is it too early to talk about Halloween? I think not! Especially when your costume revolves around getting Mr. T to make something for you. We probably should have started last November!

Last year we had a Rocky Horror Picture Show themed party. And it was a lot of fun! We had a good portion of the cast show up, and there were no duplicates. Hooray for my friends! 8}

It was a lot of fun and everyone said we should do it again this year. We're thinking maybe doing a different theme, though... If you know Mr. T you can probably guess what it's going to be.

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Yup - Ghostbusters!

Mr. T already has a jumpsuit with his name tag and a No Ghost symbol on the sleeve, along with a pretty nifty proton pack. So now I need a costume!! I'm just going to go to Goodwill and look for khaki clothing, so the only important piece of the costume would be the proton pack.

How should we dress up the dogs? We attempted to make Splinter into Rocky for last year, by spray painting one of my niece's diapers gold and making him wear it. But the spray paint destroyed the glue holding the little wings to the diaper, so it fell apart when we tried to put it on him. Cue the sad trombone music now: *wah, waaaaaaaah*

We also bought Chairman a little bowtie - not related to Rocky Horror in any way. We just thought it was cute. But it disappeared as soon as we got home. Still haven't found the stupid thing. Maybe it will turn up by October. lol!

TMI Baby Update

My period's finally coming back!!

I've given up on birth control. The past three or so years have been a roller coaster of emotions/acne/weight gain/you name it. I've done the pills, I've done the shot. I tried to do the Implanon Rod several times, but that's another story that I've already covered. Search for it if you care. 8P

We finally decided to stick with good old-fashioned condoms. We're at the point in our lives where a baby won't totally suck. And the restoration of all my facilities is more important that spending a bajillion dollars on birth control.

Of course, it can take up to 18 months for the Depo Provera shot to wear off. I was due for a re-dose in February, so it's been 3 months of question marks. Mr. T even had me go out and buy pregnancy tests, because we didn't know if the shot was still working, or if I was just pregnant now. (Not pregnant, fyi)

And now I'm kind of having a period!! Oh huzzah. Who knows how long until I'm back to "normal" but at least this is one step in the right direction.

I apologize if this was too much info for you, but the warning is in the title, so I don't feel too bad if you're scarred for life. 8P

Friday Tunes

Day 22: A Song I Listen to When I'm Sad

"Mirror" by Justin Timberlake

You guys... I love this song. And the video. And Justin Timberlake. Even though he went sleeky with his hair... Bring back the curls!!! Anywho. Watch it, love it, enjoy your weekend. See you on Monday!

100 Days of Pictures: Day 9

Who has gotten me through the most?

Family, man. That's where it's at. And if your family sucks, you find a surrogate family. Don't try to run this race (the race called LIFE) on your own. It's hard enough with a support system!

Also, I love how Mom didn't bother to set her little pom pom down for the OFFICIAL FAMILY PORTRAIT at my wedding. >.< Sister is just a few weeks pregnant with Niece, who is now 2 years, 3 months. Time friggin FLIES, man.

I kind of sound stoned, don't I? I'm not, I promise.

100 Days of Pictures

Big News!

You guys, Splinter's going to be a big brother!!

Maybe.

No, I'm not pregnant. DON'T YOU PUT THAT CURSE ON ME, RICKY BOBBY.

*ahem - excuse me. Anyway - we're (maybe) getting another dog!!!!

"Why?" you ask, incredulously. "Why, indeed." I respond. Because in this house we don't play by the rules of sane people. We are craaa-baoiaoubhabhkhabka-zyyyyyyyy! Woooooooo!! Sorry, I've also not been getting enough sleep as of late.

I know you want to see the cute li'l ragamuffin, so here he is:

Petfinder Profile

Now, some people (Little Hippo and....do I have a nickname for you?....I'll go with Spears for now, because you're a "womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer" (I kid, I kid) but also - shaved head. YOU HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON!) (Did I close all my parentheses? I think so.) (Well now I just need to start this sentence over - it makes no sense anymore.) Now, some people say little Zealand here is ugly. Well, to them I say "Your mom." Because omg cute puppy!! Look at his brindle coat, and his ONE. WHITE. LEG. *squee Plus, I've always loved Italian Greyhounds AND Whippets. I found this little guy in an attempt to prove that you can find any breed of dog you want from a shelter. I was all "Petfinder - give me any Whippets that are available near my zip code." And Petfinder was all "Here's a dog you need right now." And I was all "You're right!"

But.

We were going to wait on getting another dog, until this fall. We should be able to pay off one of Mr. T's loans by the end of October and we were going to do it then. But then this little guy fell into our lives! Our liiiiiiiiives... I can't remember when I first found this little guy - I'm going to say it was at least a month ago. I talked myself down and we went on with our lives. And then. And. Then. For some reason I thought about him again yesterday. No clue why. I was just like "Wonder if that dog is still on Petfinder." AND HE WAS. Well poop. So then I was all "Maybe he's super cheap...I'll just email them and see." $200

Which, honestly, is not that bad. He's a foster, which means he's living in someone's home and being socialized (hopefully) and not stuck in a cage in some shelter somewhere. He's house trained. Not a puppy. They know he's good with other dogs and children (not been cat tested - I'll get to that). He's up-to-date on all vaccines and heartworm prevention. He'll be neutered and microchipped. And they give you 5-7 days as a "trial period" to make sure he gets along with everyone before you're committed. Pretty sweet deal, considering we had to pay over $100 for Splinter at the shelter, then pay for the neuter, microchip, etc. ourselves. Plus he had kennel cough and a ripped ear that they didn't bother fixing since he'd be put down if he wasn't adopted. omg guys - please adopt animals from shelter/rescues/etc.

So, yeah...we decided to apply to adopt him. Shouldn't have any issues. They do require a home visit, so we may have to dope Splinter up on Benadryl to get him to behave while they're there. Or maybe I'll take the Benadryl... They also call your vet, which is my sister, which might not go well. "She's doing what?!?! No, I'm not her vet - don't let them adopt another dog!" lulz She is not a dog person. She'd probably have 5 cats if her husband would let her, but she does not like dogs.

UPDATE: Apparently the person I've been emailing about him used to work with Mr. T and Roommate way back when. I had them listed on the application and she was all "Are these the same guys who used to work at Cracker Barrel?" She added Mr. T (and then I stalkerishly added her also) on FB and her profile picture is her with the dog! He's so stinking cute, guys. I'm not sure if her knowing Mr. T and Roommate will help our adoption case any, though... lol!

100 Days of Pictures: Day 8

Makes Me Laugh

This is Splinter, from this past Christmas. Mr. T's mom gave us a little rain coat she had bought for her dog that ended up being too small. Unfortunately, her dog is a little fru-fru female and Splinter is a very ferocious male. We put it on him as a joke at her house and omg I never wanted to take it back of. It just baaaaarely fit over his chest, but he looked fabulous in it! I don't think we've put it on him since. I wish it wasn't so warm out right now, or I would totally make him wear it when I got home today. 8}

So That Just Happened...

Sitting on the couch. Roommate's stupid dog is in heat because they can't afford to get her neutered - don't get me started. Anyway....

Look up and Splinter is HUMPING HER! Hump. Ing. Her. I go into ballistic mode and they scatter like flies. Now it's just me and the cats in the living room and life is good.

After I locked Splinter in his crate and returned to my computer, however.....I realized the song currently playing on my Spotify "happy" playlist......was "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"



omg, guys. omg.

100 Days of Pictures: Day 7

My Most Treasured Item

Our house? Sure, why not! It cost enough!! I could've done something cheesy, like my wedding ring, or our marriage. But I couldn't find a picture of my ring (trying to just pull pictures from FB) and I feel like most of these have revolved around Mr. T in some way. Can you tell I'm kind of into him? We're so gross. I'm sorry...

Rescue Animals

So. 

I never though about becoming some sort of animal rights person. Actually...I'm not really one at all. Well, I'm the most lackluster kind possible, anyway. I share links on FB, and I'm part of SurveyMonkey - every time I take a survey, PetFinder gets $.50 - that's the extent of my "save the animals" campaign.

Until recently I never really thought about shelter/rescue animals at all. I knew getting pets from pet stores was a bad thing - I'd heard of puppy mills. I knew, thanks to The Price is Right that I should spay/neuter my own pets. I knew I didn't care enough about a purebred dog to spend all the money to buy one from a breeder. But that's about it.

As I've gotten more "involved" with dog/cat rescue groups (in that I've "liked" them on Facebook)...I'm shocked. I knew I changed after visiting PAWS the first time - when we decided to adopt Splinter. And I almost decided to adopt all the dogs. >.< I made a personal vow that day to only get shelter/rescue dogs for the rest of my life. But it was just a personal decision at that point.

Now...I find myself losing respect for anyone who doesn't feel the same way. I know it sounds harsh, but ohmygoodness, guys. There are so. many. pets in shelters right now. So many! I have a friend back in my hometown who has taken it upon herself to rescue local dogs. She takes care of them herself, and is housing close to (if not over) 20 dogs right now! While I sit here and feel like we can't afford a second! There is another girl who has a FB page that is doing the same thing. I actually got a friend to adopt a cat from her not too long ago. My boss is heavily involved with a no-kill group in Williamson County. My brother-in-law used to work for PAWS. My sister said she went in to visit him one day while he was putting dogs down and it was the worst thing she'd ever seen. Just dog after dog - puppy after puppy - getting euthanized. Because YOU wanted a "purebred" dog. So, yeah. Don't talk to me about wanting to buy from a breeder, okay? Because I will judge you. Harshly.

And omg if you even think about breeding your own dog I will straight up stop talking to you for all time.

/rant

I Hate Dog Breeders

100 Days of Pictures: Day 6

Someone I'd trade places with for a day:

Mr. T - in a heartbeat. I would love to figure out how his brain works! I think we'd both become much more patient with each other after spending a day in the other's shoes. Plus, I'd get to pee standing up!!!

Composting

One of the things we've been attempting to do is compost. Thankfully it's pretty hard to screw up composting, because I've done my best to screw this up. >.< I bought a little 5 gallon bin from Walmart and threw some scraps in it. Got some dirt and worms from the yard, too. You may remember my rant about The Kids way back when...I kind of mentioned composting in that. It's the reason I was raking up grass. But, yeah - it started growing mold at one point, then we left it out in the rain and it filled up with water. Twice. (Note for next time - put the holes on the SIDES of the container, not the top.) And then Splinter got into it. I haven't given up on it, though! The worms haven't died despite being drowned twice, which is a minor miracle. If they haven't given up on life, then I won't give up on them! This is one of those projects that's going to take months to really pay off, which is lame. INSTANT GRATIFICATION, PLEASE.

It's fine, though - really. I mean, we totally jacked up the timeline on getting grass planted (rant here) so I'm pretty sure we won't get around to actually gardening this spring/summer anyway. If it keeps raining every weekend it's going to take us until October to get ready to plant grass, anyway, so no need to stress about the yard. 8} And since we're eventually tearing up the carpet and putting in hardwood, I won't freak out too much about all the muddy dog prints. Woo! Chaos before order, right?

There are no pictures for this post, because it's about decaying produce and jacked up backyards. Carry on with your day - nothing to see here.

Friday Tunes

Day 21: A Song I Listen to When I'm Happy

No more 2011 references! I've now made it further than I did before. Go me!

"Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons

I haven't listened closely enough to this to know what the f this song is about, but it makes me happy when it comes on the radio. I've also never seen this video. I just flipped back over to it for a second and wtf muppet cage fights? Well that's different. I'm kind of uncomfortable right now. lol!

100 Days of Pictures: Day 5

My Favorite Memory

I had so much hair back then! Length and surface area, lol! My hair is finally getting close to the length, at least along the back (kind of got a mullet going on right now), but I am missing about 2/3 of hair along the sides. Woo, weird mohawk-type hair!! Anyway, yeah - we got married, we had an after party, we got drunk. Ironically, I don't remember portions of this night (why do both my "memory" posts revolve around alcohol??), but based on pictures I know we all had a good time. 8}

Two-Tone

Mmmmm... My husband. I lurve him. I think we work well together - compliment each other. Things I'm good at he's so, so bad at. And vice versa, of course. He's very artistic, and super creative. His brain works in magical ways - he's a very slow reader, but has amazing retention. I'm not so artistic...and I can be "creative" - if I steal an idea from Pinterest! I read super fast, but forget a lot...even important plot points. >.< I'm good with details and organization; it's a miracle he remembers to wear pants every day. 8P

So it's to be expected that I end up with the boring 8:00 to 5:00 desk job. Steady income, insurance, freaking hour-long commute, and a business-casual dress code. Mr. T is a tattoo artist and the only "dress code" is close-toed shoes to avoid bio-hazards. And now he's opened an art gallery. Two-Tone Art Gallery. TWO TONE!

I think it's awesome. Some people are concerned about the financial strain, and to that I say "p'tooey!" I mean, yeah, it's going to be a sink hole of funds. But we knew that going into it. And he's actually sold a handful of paintings! Sad to say, that's more than we thought. >.< At least at first. His goal is to break even sometime in the next three years or so. lol! Rent and utilities are relatively cheap, since he's sharing the space with a friend of ours who has a recording studio.

Anyway, I think what he's doing is freaking awesome and I'm so very proud of him. He's working hard - now his hours are 9:00-9:00 most days. And he only complains a little. Much less than I would. 8} The way I see it, some husbands have hobbies like fishing, hunting, or fixing up old cars. Mine went out and opened an art gallery. 8D