I got a puppy!

Painting Time!

So my boss, Michele, loves to find fun things to do in the city, and yesterday she invited me to go with her and paint! We basically went to a "class." I guess you could call it that. It's really just a bunch of people having fun painting, and listening to music! Some were even drinking wine!





Every day they paint a different canvas so you can look ahead on their website (or their Facebook page) and see what's coming up! Michele really liked the windmill and so she was looking forward to painting it! The painting was actually inspired by a real photograph that her friend had taken, which was pretty cool!

So here's what my painting looked like after I painted the sky (to the left) which was really easy! Then we started the grass and drew the beginning of the windmill. The grass was way harder than I thought it would be! I'm such a perfectionist and wanted it to look JUST RIGHT. My windmill base totally sucked, but I knew that we would be adding a lot to it so I was worried.

After that we added the windmill wings (is that what you call them?) and that was SO STINKING HARD! I just started painting them on there without really thinking about spacing at all. Eventually I figured it out though and here's what my painting looked like at the end!

Michele and I had so much fun and I'd love to do it again someday! I think Jake wants to actually hang it up!

Picking up Piper!

So it's about 2pm as I write this and man, am I getting sleepy.
So Jake has wanted his own dog forever, he LOVES them. Now that he's gotten really into duck hunting he REALLY wants one now to go and fetch the ducks that he shoots. We've been talking and talking about dogs lately and Jake has wore down my defenses. I finally broke down and said that we could get one when the time was right. (Which basically means when we have extra money) So Jake found these puppies on Craigslist.

There are 4 males, and 4 females and they were purebred for only $150!  They were in Iukea, Illinois though.. We ended up taking Charlotte's car which gets AMAZING gas mileage. I believe we spent less than $50 in gas total. We arrived at the big farm in Illinois and followed the teenager son to where the mother and puppies were. I had called (and emailed) ahead of time so the owners knew which one we were after. She had a little purple tie around her neck it was so cute! Jake and I chatted for a few minutes, met the dad, paid, got a little bag of food and got back on the road. Jake drove about 30 minutes and I drove the rest. (Only fair, he drove the whole way there)

Mostly Piper just slept the 4 hour drive home (so did Jake). We stopped at 3 different McDonalds and she immediately peed/pooed every time! We were SO proud of her!!! She seemed so happy to be with us and it was really cute to have her follow us around the McDonalds grassy areas.


As soon as we got home Jake took her out to our yard and she went right away! Jake set up her kennel (from Jake's dad) in our bedroom. It won't be staying in there permanitely but I've read that by putting it with us for a few nights it can help make the puppy more secure, and less likely to cry through the night. And she didn't cry at all! I think around 3am I remember hearing her whimper, but I talked to her in a soothing voice for a few minutes and that was that! I took her out 3 different times, about an hour and a half difference. Then Jake took her out twice (including when he moved her and her kennel in the kitchen around 6am). He fed her some kibble and gave her a little water.

I moved the cats to the office at that time because I didn't want to introduce them yet. (I just put their food and water in with them out of the kitchen). So at this point it was early morning and Jake left for work leaving me alone with the girls. I ended up taking her out to pee at 7:20, 8:20, and then right before I left at about 9:30am. Tonight my goal is to stretch out that time a bit and see if maybe we don't have to take her out QUITE as much. I don't mind, especially since she hasn't made a mess yet, but I've taken her out 8 times in the last 12 hours... I'm really proud of her for going outside like she is though!  She's now doing great! She loves her new toys and seems to really love Jake and I! I miss her so much being at work!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Book Discussion

BIRTHDAY UNBOXING!

I'm Married!!

A Mrs. who can now drink!

Great title, right? I thought so too. Can you believe I'm a Mrs now? Insane.

These past few days have been... how should I say it.. AMAZING, CRAZY, EXCITING, NERVE-WRACKING.. but ya, totally some of the best days of my life.

So for those of you that DIDN'T know (where have you been? like seriously) I got married on Saturday, September 7th to Jake (yes the guy that made me look like Effie :D in this video)

We celebrated our 4 year anniversary on Thursday (which was a pretty relaxing day really..) I got a pedicure, a massage.. it was a good day.

The next day (day before the wedding) was pretty much AWFUL though, so ya know..  The tent showed up like 6 hours late, the table and chairs showed up FRIDAY night at 9pm instead of THURSDAY. Stupid people. So I didn't get much beauty sleep THAT'S for sure. People kept telling me to leave (it was about midnight) but I wanted everything to be perfect so I stayed. The rehearsal was awful. If you are getting married, don't expect the rehearsal to look good. (Mine was a disaster but the wedding was still perfect, so you can relax.) The rehearsal dinner was good though! (Big thanks to my mother-in-law!)

Saturday morning was... stressful. Really all I can say. I was a total nervous wreck. I was snapping at people.. I was basically a really crabby bride. That was mainly due to really negative, stressful people around me that morning. I'm someone that really picks up on the emotions and feelings of others. If everyone around me is bubbly and happy, soon I will be too. Unfortunately this works in reserve as well. Some people don't know what to do when they get stressed and they turn into negative Nancy's. TIP: On YOUR wedding day, try and surround yourself with people that are really good at managing stress. Especially if they are good at making you laugh! I don't know what I would have done without 2 of my bridesmaids, Karlee and Bethanna. They were so good at keeping me calm and laughing later on! :D

The day got better and I found myself getting SUPER emotional over stuff I didn't think I was going to. I almost started crying the first time I saw Jake for example. Have you seen the pictures on Pinterest and  stuff where the bride and groom are holding hands around a wall or tree or something where the groom can't see the bride? Jake and I did that and I think the picture is going to turn out really cute. But when I first saw him, I just got so overwhelmed by how handsome he looked and I don't know... I got mad at myself because I had spent so long on my makeup and here I was messing it up before the ceremony even started! Bethanna made a joke that made me laugh and I calmed myself down luckily before I ruined my makeup. I almost cried seeing Jake at the alter, during the toasts, SO many different times! It was just an amazing emotional day I suppose.

Overall, I was really happy with the decorations and how everything looked. I can't WAIT to show you guys pictures! I plan on posting them once I get my hands on them!

Jake and I spent Saturday evening and most of Sunday in Avila by the lake (a gift from his grandmother.) That place was AWESOME. (If you didn't know Jake and I are waiting until December to take our actual honeymoon)

Then yesterday, on Monday, was my 21st birthday! I didn't do much but I dressed up for it and Jake and I went downtown and ate dinner. I then went to Trops and bought my first alcoholic drink! (It was a raspberry lemonade slushy) Afterwards, we swam in the pool at our place with some friends and called it a night! I didn't want a crazy 21st birthday party.. plus I knew I had to work the next morning!

I'll admit I'm kind of wore out from these past few days. I plan on going STRAIGHT home after work and relaxing! :D

Document Your Life | August 2013