I should probably change the name of this blog

With the number of pictures I post of Bear, I should probably re-name this blog something that implies you'll be inundated with puppy pictures if you click through.  But for consistency's sake, and because the content of this blog is all over the place, I'm keeping it as is...but continuing to bathe you in Bear pictures.

I'm still terrible with Blake's camera, but I'm trying to make myself take it out more often.  No more empty promises of better quality photos! (Well, at least some of the time...I can't be expected for forego the ease of the iPhone all the time.)

I call this series: Bear rejoices with his stick.  I'm fairly certain that his inner monologue is something like the Swedish Chef's when he's running.  It's impossible not to smile when you see his triumphant grin.

Young-ish

As I've mentioned before, I'm slowly hacking away at writing a book.  The main character is a 15-year old girl.  So, lately I've been trying to get in touch with my teenaged self by doing the following:

Wearing my retainer at night
Listening to high school throwback tunes like Relient K and Blink 182
Eating three Cadbury creme eggs for lunch in lieu of vegetables
and
Re-reading my journals from that era

It's been a painful process.  Apparently my teeth have moved during my "wear once-a year" retainer routine and practically stage a coup each night when I force it on.  The journal entries are deliciously (make that painfully) awkward.

Though I hate to admit it, I just can't seem to turn my back on Blink 182.  As hard as I try, those were my angst-y high school jams.  I'll never let go of those nasally, whiny, percussion-filled diatribes against the man.  Too many good memories.  Driving around in my 1980, mustard-yellow Volvo station wagon (appropriately named Colonel Mustard), manually rolling down the windows, and blasting punk music over the protests of my friends of the boy-band musical persuasion.

The journal entries have simultaneously been the most informative and most hilarious aspect of my retrospective. The writing reads the way nails on a chalkboard sound.  I'd always thought myself above the normal teenage drivel.  Guess I've been looking at the past through rose-colored glasses.

Here's a gem from a road trip with my family:

It was so funny. Meg and I sat in the front, but she thought my mom was also sitting up with us, so she scooted close to me, so I said "well, meg, if you really want to sit that close to me you can, but it really isn't necessary." We both started laughing, it was so funny."

Such beautiful descriptions! Such cascading prose! I was a regular Charles Dickens back then. Beginning and ending the story with "it was so funny." My younger self astounds my current self with the depth of her literary prowess.

Then later from the same road trip:

I got really car sick today. I had to throw up in a plastic bag. It was gross, and I felt bad cos I had to barf in front of everyone. Hopefully I didn't gross Meg out too much. Quite the embarrassment, huh?

Spoiler alert. Meg and I are still friends all these years later. Never let a little backseat barfing come between true friends.

And do you remember when photography wasn't digital?  Getting your prints in triple so you could give them to your friends?  It's probably for that reason that I can't find many pictures of my 15-year-old self on my current computer.  So this one is minus Meg, but plus Lindsey, Ashton and Rachel Cam.

These were the days when we thought we were cool for wearing our brothers' little league shirts to school and then playing baseball in the park after class.  Epitome of cool right there.

Easter

This post could just as easily be titled "A love letter to the self-timer."

It's fairly rare that I blow dry my hair and get fully "ready"for church, but I felt like Easter was a great opportunity to put on a new dress and pull out the blow dryer.  The cherry tree was in full bloom and the yard was looking spiffy after our marathon clean-up session on Saturday, so we pulled out the camera and took some family photos.

Thank goodness for Blake and his artistic prowess and technical know-how.  He can put a camera on top of our good ole Honda Accord and make us look halfway decent!

Our neighbors probably thought we were strange staring at our car with plastered-on smiles.  Oh well.  The cherry tree is one of our favorite things about our house, so we like to get as many pictures of it/with it as possible.  There's just nothing better than the springtime - when all the windows are open and the smell of cherry blossoms is wafting through the rooms.  I could live in perpetual spring for the rest of my life and never lose my appreciation for it.

 

In Miniature

I've had great luck finding things on the side of the road lately.  So good, in fact, that maybe I should start gambling.  I just can't lose!

A couple weeks ago I found a sad looking set of children's table and chairs.  They were wobbly, covered with cobwebs, and scratched all over the place.  Not to mention they were a horrible color - who thought it was a good idea to stain furniture speckled orangey-brown?

I was out on a walk with Bear when I spotted them, so I quickly ran home, jumped in the car, and drove back over with Bear in the passenger seat.  (Blake was on a conference call and Bear was being especially naughty, so I wanted to keep him out of the house as much as possible.)  Did I mention I was also on the phone at the time?

So I'm the one gal who is seemingly talking to herself (headphone speakers) and loading things from a garbage pile into the back of my car.  The other folks out walking gave me the oddest looks.  It was worth it, though.

In addition to the table and chairs, I also got several large frames.  One was a professionally framed painting of a barn. The frame was ugly, but I liked the painting, so I just painted the frame another color.  I still need to take pictures of that, but hopefully I'll get around to it at some point.  I gave three other large frames to a friend because I didn't have a place for them and frames don't exactly sell well on Craigslist.

I started this project with the intention of selling the set.  I tightened up the chair legs and backs, sanded down the table, and vacuumed off all the spider webs.  I painted the chairs in a light mint green and the table in a stark white.  Three coats each.  They're both in high gloss for easy wipe-ability.

Alas, when I finished I realized I was too attached to sell them.  They turned out much better than I'd anticipated.  Sure, it'll probably be another 5 years before we have any kids who will be able to use them, but they're just so cute that I can't let go.  And if it turns out that mint green isn't as gender-neutral as I was hoping, well, I can just repaint.  Paint fixes everything.

Bear, the attention-hog, modeling the finished product.

Don't ask me why there is a flower pot full of lemons on the table.  I had it on hand and wanted to add some more color to the photo.  And this is why I will never be a set stylist.

Brady and the Bear

We were talking with some friends the other night about how funny it would be to have a blog written from the perspective of a dog about his humans.  I post so much about Bear, but what if he were posting about me and Blake?  The pictures would be hysterical.

"Here we have my human in his natural habitat - with a pizza sitting in front of the TV."

"Oh, look at those cute humans asleep with their mouths open. Lemme go put something in there."

"She's even cute when she's using the bathroom!"

I think I've found my next great idea.

Anyway...

Blake's brother and sister-in-law are out of town with their kids for Spring Break, so Brady gets to hang out with us for 10 days.  He and Bear have been having a grand ol' time together. They play hard and then crash.  It's a good system for keeping them busy and it makes my life pretty easy.

For the most part the spring weather has been great.  I've been leaving the back door open so they can come and go as they please.  I've also kept the sofa covered in a sheet so that I don't have to worry about dirt and leaves making their way onto it.  It looks fairly dumpy, but it saves me a lot of trouble. Dumpy is what comes with having two dogs in the house, I figure.

I don't know how people with two dogs keep their homes clean. Don't even get me started on the mud when it's raining.  Trying to dry off both of these hellions is quite the process...I've already gone through a stack of towels just today!

Thank goodness they tire each other out.  More sleep, less mud please.