LEROY IN A BOOK

Shout out to my best friend T who sparked the most hilarious idea.

Her little guy is our godson (cue the aaaaw's) and a few months ago I bought him this book at Wal Mart of all places. It is a really adorable book that is very interactive and slightly hilarious with fuzzy puppies, crinkly paper, and scratch and sniffs. So cute.

When I told T about this book she asked if there were pictures of border collies like Leroy. She said when she reads dog books to her little guy she points out "There's Leroy!" and "There's Maddie!" for all the border collies and golden doodles. Well having Leroy spotted in a book just seemed like the best idea.

So clearly I had to alter this book in some way. I took a photo of Leroy, cut around it and taped him onto a grey dog whose proportions suited Leroy's head. I like to think when we pulled this out at our godson's baptism it was a hit all around. Haha! Can't wait to read it with him and point out our favourite furry man.

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 2016

Let's talk about two things, shall we?

Christmas and New Year.

First off - I am the biggest Scrooge. This Christmas I found it hard to buy presents. The older I get the more I feel most of us have enough "stuff". We have too much "stuff". And I am starting to become skeptical... I buy presents because society tells me I can't be empty handed when I see my family or friends in the month of December? Does anyone else feel this way?? Does anyone else agree that is not the point of Christmas??

Don't get me wrong - I love picking items up for family and friends throughout the year if I see something I think they will love. (I bought my friend J Mariah Carey's new Christmas storybook because I knew she would just love it - and she did.) And I'm very thankful for the things I receive. But to buy for the sake of buying when others are in need...

Little by little I hope to wear down my family this year (ok - really my mom) until they (she) agree we can stop buying presents for each other. Or at least get them to stop giving me Christmas presents because I truly am happy to simply have a couple of days off work and enjoy a good meal with those I love!!

Leroy, on the other hand was so excited about his Christmas presents that he fell asleep hugging his new Turkey. Does it get any cuter than that?

The next order of business - the New Year.

I never make any true "resolutions" but this year I have a few goals in mind. At the end of 2016 I'd like to be able to do a push up and a pull up. I'd like to go on two trips this year. (We have one booked!) I'd like to spend a little less money on eating out (I am a takeout monster). I'd like to live with my husband again. I also have some ideas about where I'd like my money to go (besides those trips - ha!).

Last year I bought a journal to document our favourite memories of the year on New Year's Eve. I'm really excited about it and I can just picture looking back on it years from now and remembering all the happy moments that stood out each year. I recommend doing it! It was even fun this year to look back at last year's memories!

I hope 2016 brings you all kinds of blessings.

THINGS THAT LAST FOR SEVEN YEARS

All photo credit in this post to Jordan and Judith Photo/Film. 

Hubby and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary last month and every time we reach a new year I always think about what I've learned about marriage since we wed in 2008. I was nineteen when we got married which is just shocking to me now but thankfully I would do it again a hundred times over. Even more thankfully God must have really guided that decision because holy - nineteen!! I don't like anything that I liked when I was nineteen!

I certainly am no marriage expert - heaven knows I lose my temper far too often and to be honest I don't think anyone ever accused me of being low maintenance (oops!) - but I do feel like we have learned a lot together over seven years of marriage (three of those being long distance).

We think the most important thing is to keep God at the center. If both people focus on their relationship with God and being more Godly themselves you will be a better partner. And we believe that being focused on God (and spreading His love) is what is most important in life.

Though one can be overpowered , two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12

Don't get me wrong - marriage can be really hard. We have had difficult days and difficult months/years, to be honest. Thankfully we always get back to good days eventually but at times that takes a lot of work. Once we were at a wedding and a groomsman said, "Most people say marriage is easy." At that point we had been married for a few years and maybe only just began to live together. The two of us looked at each other incredulously as if to say, "We must be doing this all wrong." HA! Hubby and I still laugh about that.


So to take a totally different direction (I'll quit while I'm ahead sounding very sage and wise and hope you skimmed over the temper and high maintenance part - hehe), this anniversary has got me thinking... what are things that last for seven years? I know you've been wondering the same thing. :)

1. A high quality vacuum - we spent almost all of our wedding money on an Electrolux Oxygen vacuum. We bought the Oxygen 3 at the time - the link is for the Oxygen 12. Worth every penny.
2. Santa's Solution Tree Stand - we have this baby which was created and fabricated near my hometown. It's called Santa's Solution and we swear by it. It holds more water than any other tree stand by far and your tree will not fall over. It is literally THE BEST. Made in Canada. (Just like me!)
3. Books - some of my best friends are books! Books will stand the test of time, I tell you. They are beastly to move though. (My apologies to all of our friends who have ever helped us pack!)
4. Hubby's free tshirts - I actually typed this last week and then tonight got hubby to cut back to max ten free tshirts. After we counted them I realized he had less than I had thought...I would have been better off to ask him to keep five... :)
5. Childhood stuffed animals - Dumbo and Theodore (mine and his) are still sitting beside each other on our dresser. Besties. Dumbo is far better looking.

And of course to complete the list, things that do not last seven years!

1. Sheets/towels - I followed someone's advice when we first got married and I only used some of our towels so those ones are pretty much worn out and now we can move onto the stack of unused wedding towels. My mom bought us really nice sheets and we used them exclusively for three or four years. I threw them out about a month ago - just shy of seven years.
2. A futon - the bane of my existence. We watch TV while sitting on the futon in the basement literally every night. I mean, it doesn't owe us anything but let's just say one of the supports has been held together with butter knives and duct tape for many, many years now. It will not be making the next move with us.
3. Drinkware/coffee carafe - we broke all of those suckers in the first year or two of marriage. Glass cups? One by one we slowly whittled them away. Coffee carafe? Lasted less than a year.
4. Unity candle - this momento from our wedding survived three moves. The fourth time we moved (ugh) was one month after the third move (ugh). Strangest life decision yet. Sorry unity candle. I hope this doesn't mean we're not unified anymore.
5. A coffee table - it would have held up for seven years (and it's just from Zellers or Wal Mart!) but unfortunately I was talking to my best friend on the phone and spilled nail polish remover on it. Better days, better days.

OUR BABY MAN

Leroy has about 8000 nicknames and one of them is baby man. Are you surprised? I didn't think so.

So far 2015 has been the year of working all the time so life has been a bit boring. Hence the lack of blog posts. The only thing I have to share at the moment are a few new photos of me and "baby man" - including Leroy wearing his new booties so snow doesn't get stuck in the pads of his feet. They are somewhat hilarious (and more expensive than the last pair of shoes I bought).

LEROY, KONA, AND COOPER

It's been awhile since I've posted much about my best friend Leroy. But boy, do I have a gem!!

Last weekend we all parted ways and hubby and Leroy went on a boys trip while I went to visit friends in the opposite direction. Leroy met up with a couple of his old buds - Kona and Cooper. They are brothers (adopted brothers you might say) and both chocolate labs. I sent hubby with my camera hoping he would get some sweet photos of the three guys.

First thing Monday morning he sent me the best photo! The three doggies at the top of the stairs with their tongues out waiting for a treat. He did such a good job capturing it at the perfect moment!

And for good measure I'm including one more of our manny by himself. Just because.

CURB APPEAL - POST FOUR

Here it is. The moment we've all been waiting for. The house painting before and after.

Now, before you skip ahead, let me warn you. This is not the final product. I have a number of things on my outdoor to do list as you'll see in the photo below. Everything else (except for a new house number) will be a project for next year. I want to take out the concrete steps (that are flaking apart) and put in new wooden steps, get some shutters and window boxes, new outdoor light fixtures, finish painting the house, a new front door and new windows just for the entryway (all the other windows were replaced before we bought the house), chop down the dying pine trees beside the driveway, and even just do some landscaping.

That's a long list.

And that's why this year I am happy with 2 of 4 sides of the house painted and a new house number. Baby steps. (Concrete steps?) :)

As an FYI - we scraped one side of the house at a time and our neighbour told us you really only have to get rid of the paint that is flaking off. Then we spot painted areas that were worse than others. After that we did 2 full coats and it looks sooo much better (in our opinion)!  Take a look! (PS - painting is way better when you have a super cute assistant. And I mean...super cute.)

END OF SEPTEMBER BEACH DAYS

This past weekend was the most gorgeous end of September weekend I can ever remember. We wore shorts, finished up our outside painting, walked the nature park, and went to the beach!

One of the best things about our house is that it is a ten minute walk from the beach. When we bought our house it was the beginning of December and I didn't realize until the snow melted in the spring how close we were to the ocean! It was quite a lovely surprise that hubby laughed about - my sense of direction is horrendous.

Ever since Leroy was a wee little guy it was our regular summer routine to get ice cream, go to the beach, throw the frisbee and look for beach glass. We've started a bit of a beach glass collection and it's nothing to scoff at. ;)

For a few different reasons we haven't spent much time there this summer (can you say moved - twice?) and when Sunday was so absolutely gorgeous we decided to go after church. Even though I don't get to see them every day I'm pretty lucky to have such special guys in my life. (And on the upside - Leroy has been spending time with me in my home away from home!) I hope your weekend was lovely too!

Below left: What I call the "Stairs of Death". The steepest, most tetanus - infested stairs in the universe. We take Leroy off his leash before we descend because otherwise, let's be honest, I'm sure we would all die.

Below right: Our little manny isn't much of a swimmer. A few weeks ago when visiting a friend's cottage he totally surprised us when he chased a stick into the water and swam! Normally he wades and if you threw something for him you end up getting in the water to retrieve it yourself if it's something you don't want to lose (like a frisbee). He didn't swim yesterday but he spent a lot of time running in and out of the waves and was happy as could be. And pretty crazy adorable.

LEROY MEETS PABLO AKA PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE

Today I am babysitting a little Havanese doggie named Pablo.  I have been taking photos of Leroy and P all morning because it has been hilarious to watch the two of them!  It started with Leroy being absolutely terrified and retreating (or being herded) into his "home" (kennel).  He was appalled when Pablo joined him and did his best to ignore the little doggie who was sniffing his face and trying to play.  Leroy's scared of doggies.  He gets that from his Mom.  (And also, he's more of a "people person" anyway.)

Eventually Leroy somehow decided that maybe it would be fun to play with P and they spent the rest of the morning chasing each other back and forth from one end of our house to the other...until they both collapsed and slept for most of the afternoon. :)

If you are a dog lover, enjoy.

Above: Pablo looks a little defeated here and Leroy is still doing his best "avoid eye contact and don't move too quickly".

Above: My favourite thing about this picture is how Leroy is pressed so far up against the cage that all his fur is poking through.  And honestly - look at his eyes.  That is what fear looks like, people.

LIFE HAPPENS

Sigh.  The stress.  It is aging me greatly.

Our household is currently under some stress and there are some big changes coming our way.  I am studying for my licensing exam, preparing for residency in another city, trying to figure out how we will make that work, just returned from two weeks away for school, buying a new car, second guessing what kind of car to buy, and to top that off - my two oldest friends both had major life events this week (one had a baby and one got engaged)!  It has been a highly emotional week to say the least.  (Not to mention planning a very expensive trip to Europe in the midst of all this.  The tickets were booked prior to knowing about all these other changes or we would be foregoing a trip this year.  There must be a reason why it happened like that, right?)

Life happens.  I definitely married the right person because I have been in a complete tizzy for the last couple of weeks and when I ask hubby how he's feeling about it all, he says, "I can only laugh".  Well, that makes one of us.  And thank goodness for that.

Leroy is somewhat oblivious to everything.  (Is he?  Is he really?)  The last week has left us all feeling like this:

More updates to come but at the moment we are (still) trying to iron everything out.

OUT LIKE A LION

Leroy is tired of snow.  Really tired.  He liked it at the beginning of winter - the running, the jumping, the eating, the burrowing... but now, it's just getting stuck between his paws and making poops more difficult.  No one wants that.

We had the biggest storm of the year this week (a week after the first day of spring...yay).  It was a lovely welcome home from Calgary.  Thankfully I came home the day before the storm or I would have been stranded at some airport in Canada, I'm sure.

Here are some photos of sad Leroy covered in March snow.  He's so sad he's even in black and white.

Here's to one day experiencing Spring.  Fingers crossed.

YES I HERD YOU

I have a few things to post soon, including hubby's birthday cake and some (not so great) family news.  In the meantime I thought I'd just post quickly on a little purchase we made last night.  I have started to "favourite" items on Etsy that I like for future reference.  Almost all of them I'm sure I'll never buy, but it's kind of nice just for inspiration.  Anyhoo, a week or so ago I noticed a border collie magnet from PopDoggie and hubby actually insisted we buy it for our fridge.  I thought you might like to see it. :)

We thought it was oh so punny.  And since Leroy is such a sweet little man, I'll leave you with a couple of photos of him from September 2013.

Have a great weekend!

SNOWSHOEING

Today we went snowshoeing for the first time ever!  Hubby's mom bought us snowshoes and after Christmas all our snow melted so I've desperately been waiting for snow.  It was sooo cold out and I was still in love!  What a fun winter activity - I am totally sold.  A walk with a twist.  What's not to love?

It was such a great chance for Leroy to get to run around off his leash, too, which is too rare in the winter time.  (I'm always cold so I just hate bundling up and going outside in the winter!)  We went to the nature park and found it to be incredibly blustery and windy which was bad (because it was freezing) and good (because the wind had packed some of the snow down in drifts).  Anyway, we had a ball and it was the perfect end to a Monday work day because we all know those are the worst.

That little blob by my side is my baby running beside/ahead of me.  He was in his happy place.  Hope you found something to make your Monday a little less bleak, too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014

Hello, world!  Happy New Year!  I can't believe the holidays have come and gone and I miss Christmas like you wouldn't believe.  So much that today, January 17th, my Christmas tree is still up and looks just as beautiful as it did four weeks ago... for the most part!

I just went through my photos and thought I'd give you an update of our Christmas through a photo recap.  First of all, the three of us did a lot of cuddling (and after Christmas most of the cuddling took place while watching Downton Abbey - or "going to Downton" as we call it in this house).

We hosted a dinner party for four and I tried my hand at baking fruit tarts with custard.  Not too shabby.  The pears really made the dessert.

Next, we had our own "Christmas morning" together the three of us on December 23rd before heading up river to the in laws' and eventually my family's on Christmas night.  I don't care what you say, Leroy understands everything.  Hubby and I were getting ready to open stockings, I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and literally Leroy (on his own) went into the living room and lay down beside his stocking.  He totally gets it.  Totally.

Around that same time, the 23rd or so, we had a big ice storm that resulted in the neighbour's tree falling down into our yard.  We were nervous to leave the house to visit family because we weren't sure if the power would stay on.  Turned out our house was fine, but many in the area lost power for days.

Then we spent a few days at my parents' house with the siblings.  Sister, hubby, and I played a friendly game of Life.  (I won... as per usual... not competitive or anything.)  And why is it in that game you end up with soooo many children!?  And whyyyy do they force you to buy a more expensive house when you're Game of Life middle aged?!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a happy, healthy, and exciting (in a good way) new year!  We have dubbed 2014 "the year of the resident" but as one of my classmates pointed out, "the year of the paycheque" is just so much nicer! ;)