It was a QUIET Weekend...yay!

I'm hopeful that the people behind us finally got the hint that letting their dogs bark is not a good thing. It appears they kept them inside over the weekend and while they've been out a bit today (and yes, barking) it's not been for prolonged periods of time. Yay!

Over the weekend we finally found a second hand dresser for Amy...another yay! It's a bit bigger than the one she was using and all her clothes fit, with room to spare. *Ü* She's happy with it and the fish in the tank are happy to be settled again. They don't NOT like being moved. LOL Speaking of the girls, I also managed to find the source of the beeping/alarm noise I've been hearing every night at about midnight. I thought I found the source last week, but I was woken up again the other night, so when we moved the dresser in, I told the girls they HAD to find the culprit. They looked only half heartedly (of course, because they slept right through it), and I managed to find it in a couple of minutes. For Christmas, Amy got a set of text messenger toys. One can text back and forth between them. Anyway, somehow the alarm got turned on one of them. I found the one where the alarm hadn't been turned on I guess. To ensure it wouldn't beep again, I took the batteries out. Whew! No wakey, wakey at midnight last night. Ahhhhhh....

Yesterday, while watching the playoff games, I worked on a beaded crochet bracelet I wanted to make for my friend's mom (who is "gram" to my girls). Her birthday is later this week. I was going to do a pattern with the beads at first, but decided to go totally random (gasp) because I liked how the beads looked all jumbled up in the bag they came it.

I got it sent off today and hope it arrives in time.

Thought I'd show it off for perspective. I used beads from Hobby Lobby and they are size 6. The robe is kind of stiff when I'm done, so I have to make it a bit larger than I'd like to get it to meet at the end for sewing it together. I was pleased to have been able to get it done in a day. Amy asks every day if I've worked on her giraffe. She was patient yesterday knowing I was making the bracelet for Gram. She even made up a birthday card for her while I was working on the bracelet.



I took Buster to be groomed the other day. Dang, I'm always amazed at how much smaller he looks when the bush is gone. Even the groom commented, "Who'd have known there was such a cute dog under all that hair!" LOL

Just love that face!

And I got a sweet, sweet surprise in the mail today....a card from Sparkle!!! I love it Sparks, and so do the girls! Thanks so much for thinking of me! If you've not been to Sparkle's blog, you are in for a real treat when you go. She is a MASTER with the Copics and color combinations. Her cards are just fabulous!

I made it out to the craft room today and worked some more on "the purge." I have some empty spaces now! Still not done, but making progress. My piles to leave the space are getting bigger. Oh my! But it feels good to finally make a decision on some of this stuff. Speaking of craft rooms, if you don't subscribe or visit Tresa's Fabulously Artsy blog...head on over, she posted a video tour of her studio today! It's terrific and inspiring!

Okay, I need to finish up dinner, so will close. Hope you've had a great day and terrific start to your week.

Do I Really Have To?

This is my second post for today.

Sorry, couldn't resist this!

Do I really have to go out in that???

Oh, okaaaaay...

This is SO not fair!

LOL

Yep, it keeps comin' down!

And it's supposed to do this ALL day long!

Sigh...

Happy Monday to you. Hope you've had a great day. I took the girls to the outdoor pool for a few hours as today was the last day they'll be open for the season. Thankfully, the weather cooperated! The girls had a blast and I got to work some more on Jessica's socks (I'm on the toes now...won't be long).

This picture of Buster was taken on the day hike that Steve and the girls went on on Saturday. I guess Buster was so hot after the trek, he walked straight into the water and plopped down for a while. I can just imagine him thinking...What?! It feels goooooood! It makes me smile to look at it.

As does this photo of the girls looking through one of my photo albums. They've re-discovered them and Amy takes great pride in reading my journaling. They really enjoy looking through what I've done and have also said I really need to do more pages! (Oops, guess I'd better get some of the layouts that are living on my computer printed out)
Other than the card I showed you, I've not been in my craft room this weekend. I have been pretty domestic, though. I changed sheets yesterday, did the grocery shopping and even washed both cars! I was pooped when it was all said and done, that's for sure, but it felt good to get the stuff accomplished.

I walked on Friday (can't remember if I mentioned that) and decided to go ahead and walk this morning, since Steve was home. I went 2.73 miles in just over an hour and took 9642 steps! Wow! I am pleased at that. My shins were a little sore when I started, but by the end of the walk, they were just fine, thank goodness.

Not too much else to report right now. Thanks ever so much for stopping by. Hope you have a great start to your week!

How To Lose 20 Lbs Without Trying...

Hello there!

First off, I would like you thank you for the warm and happy birthday wishes. They mean a great deal to me. The girls has assessments that day, so I took them to school for an hour and a half and then I took them to Chuck E. Cheese and let them play for a couple of hours. Once home again, I fielded kids (as in neighbors' and my own) and birthday phone calls the rest of the afternoon. Steve took us out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Yum

Now about my post title...sadly this isn't a fix for humans, but for dogs, particularly our dog, Buster. He is a Lhaso Apso/Cocker Spaniel mix (we think-got him from the animal shelter) and his hair grows out, not down (much like my own hair...I feel for you buddy). Every 3 or 4 months we take him to get groomed. Every time I think I should take a picture of him before and after. I think this usually just after I drop him off at the groomer. LOL Today, my brain was working well for some reason (maybe it was the hour long brisk walk I took that got the brain cells moving) and I remembered to do a before shot and an after shot so you can see the dramatic difference it makes to have Buster groomed.

Here he is doing his best to look like a Brillo pad.

Don't you just love the Veronica Lake, hair over one eye look? Oh her it might look sexy, on him...not so much.

And here's what he looks like when all that hair is gone!

***Poof!***

20 pounds gone and he didn't have to break a sweat! Lucky dog!

You can tell he feels lighter too...look at that million dollar smile!

That face is what got me when I saw him at the shelter...who could resist??

Thanks for stopping by and again thanks for the well wishes. You all are the best and sure know how to make this 44 year old gal feel special.

*Ü*