One More Day

Hershey, your story began while I was in high school. My mom got you for me for my birthday. We scoured the newspapers and ran all over town looking for the perfect dog. Finally, later in the day, we were way down in South Austin off Brodie and her cell phone rings. It's a breeder in Liberty Hill. She had one more miniature dachschund for sale. She warned us that he was the runt of the litter and his tail was broken because his momma got tired during the delivery.

We all met up at the Taco Bell parking lot in Georgetown (waaaay north) and bought Hershey. It was the best $75 ever spent. It took me days to figure out a name for him. I finally landed on Hershey. Mom wanted to name him Bentley because of his tail. But, that's a rich person's dog's name... He was later registered as Hershey von Bentley Mueller.



Hershey was curious about everything. He was my bug dog. Flies and spiders were no match for him in his younger days. He would run constantly either chasing a ball or a bird or a squirrel. He played so hard for so long.

When I was in MS, he fell out of my truck (it was parked) and hurt his back leg. I took him to the vet for xrays. It turns out, even though I have had this dog since he was 8 weeks old (and did not leave him for more than a day until 2003) and there was no sign of trauma to him when we got him (minus the tail), he had a metal pellet in one of his back legs. It never bothered him, but I always wondered how it got there.





Later in life, he would still play with his ball, but not nearly as much. To help keep him young at heart, we'd stick a ball in a box. He'd go NUTS, often times attacking the actual box and forgetting about the ball.

He also loved chasing my RC car that I got as a gag gift one year.



When not running, he would cuddle with anyone that would have him. After about age 10, his breath was named "Death Breath." It was pretty horrid. Only a mother's (and adoptive father's) love could really handle it.



You were a funny little dog... If I didn't pay attention to you, you'd get in my lap. As the minutes of no attention grew, you'd get closer and closer until you were finally resting your forehead on mine.




I loved how he knew if I was sick. He wouldn't leave my side.

Hershey, I always said you were the only man that ever loved me unconditionally. It was true. You were a good dog and friend. I'm going to miss you very, very much. If only I had one more day...


Your final sunset....

Saving money.. one dollar at a time.

Coincidentally, my friend Tricia asked me about how I'm saving money with homemade household products. I had just run out of dishwashing detergent yesterday, so I was planning to test out the baking soda and borax dishwashing detergent. It calls for 2T of each. I found out that my detergent holder does not hold 4T of powder, so I may have to rewash this load. I'm remedying this by mixing a bunch up and just doing 2T of the mixture.

Last year, I made liquid laundry detergent. It cost me approximately $2. And at the rate it's going, I won't have to make another batch for at least another year. That's right. $1/per year for laundry detergent. I can't even fathom how much people (and myself) spend on something that I'm finding out is a HUGE MARKETING PLOY.

Vinegar is still my best friend. I use so much vinegar, I'm actually considering making it myself to save even more. I just need to get my garage to be organized so I have a place to do so. For vinegar to work, it has to sit for like 6 months.. but if I can figure out how much I'm using, I could literally setup 2 different stations.. one that is sitting and the other that I'm using. By the time I run out, I can make more to sit and start on the batch that is ready. That is a dream at this point, so I have no idea if it'll ever happen.

I also have started following a friend of mine. Her blog talks about how she's working on being more green. So far my 2 favorite posts are: self watering containers and how to drink and be responsible.. haha.

From bachelor pad to a nice starter home...

In every sense of the word "perfect" - that is my home. Why? Because it's a fixer-upper. This house screams "project!" I love working on the house, even if it is time consuming. The bones of the house are great. I hate the floor plan, but it'll be good for someone. I hate the way the HVAC vents are set up, but it is what it is. Those are things I can't/won't change. But, everything else is up for grabs!

How did the snowball effect of remodeling start? Well, it's a funny little story. Before Brian and I got married, I told him I could not live in this house as-is. It's a serious haz-mat issue. I may or may not be exaggerating. So, I asked if I could stain the concrete or redo the dining room floor. This is the same room where there were 8 fish tanks. He said, "Ok." Little did he realize, I had a box cutter in my hand. Before he was able to return from the kitchen, I had the carpet cut along the dining and living room line. This was started almost 2 years ago. The stain didn't end up working out because of that giantic 185 gallon tank. So, I put a vinyl in around it. I can still finish once we move.


Before


After

I also went ahead and pulled out all the old laminate in the small bathrooms and laundry area and put down the same vinyl.

After that, I decided the wall to wall carpet in the bathroom (gag me... ) had to go.

Before


After

And then the blinding floral disaster that was puked all over the walls.


Before




After

Somehow, I managed to convince Brian that the carpet in the rest of the house needed to be replaced.

Before


After

I'm also slowly working on the yards. I've put in a large flower bed in the front. I hope to finish it off with a monkey grass edge this Spring. The backyard needs a lot more help. But, the hot tub, aka another fish tank, was the first thing to go. After that, down came the deck.




Before


After

Our latest project will be the kitchen. It was supposed to be our last project before we sold the house, but when opportunity knocks, you answer!






Before... a nice hot mess.

The plan started with cabinets. Well, of course if you replace the cabinets, you have to replace the counter tops. Well, if you replace the counter tops, you might as well replace the builder-basic back splash. If you replace all of that, you might as well get rid of the floral puke on the walls and paint. Why not just finish the whole thing off and replace all the light fixtures as well, including knocking out the light box (not pictured) and putting in something other than a florescent bulb.

I'm hoping we're done by the time the weather warms up (March/April), because I want to get back to the yard. Cross your fingers for us!

While we're hoping to sell in 4-5 years, I keep having dreams of being in the house until the kid(s) graduate high school. Crap. But, that won't be horrible since when they are gone, we could go buy a house out right. We'll just have to wait and see what happens....

General Ramble

Kaylee Update
Solids is going better now. The only thing she's completely rejected is the rice cereal.

We've tried:
* avocados
* butternut squash
* sweet potatoes
* bananas

Next on the list are:
* pears
* apples
* peas
* green beans
* zucchini
* yellow squash
* carrots

At least.. that's all I have made atm.

I'm also about to switch pediatricians. It would be one thing if my current doctor didn't constantly contradict himself, but he does. He tells me one thing, and then swears he never said that. I wish Brian could come to more of the appointments. I feel crazy when the doctor does that to me. But, if there are 2 people hearing the non-sense, then I could fight back a little easier.

For instance... Kaylee isn't really gaining weight. She's growing taller. Her head is growing. She's just putting on the ounces very slowly. Just like I did as a baby. So, the doctor told me to start her on solids - three times a day because she needs more calories. I even remember questioning why so much.

During the follow-up appointment, he told me "No, I only said two times a day." Good grief. At the 6 month check-up, he wanted to do a CBT and urinalysis. I asked, "Why are we redoing tests we just did a week and a half ago?" And, "are there other foods I can give her that will help with the calories?" That's when he said, "She isn't going to get the calories from solids. If she's not going to put on any weight, I'm going to recommend hospitalization so the nurses who know how to feed a baby can evaluate her." Wait a second.... didn't we start her on solids so she would get MORE CALORIES? My final request was to look at my medical history. His reply, "This is not because of genetics."

Ya know what I think it is? I think it's because it was January 3rd and my insurance deductible reset. This whole "let's put 'em in the hospital" junk is for the birds. There's zero reason a perfectly healthy developing baby needs to be hospitalized. The blood tests are normal. The urinalysis is normal. There's no ear infection. SHE'S JUST SMALL.

That blatant insult of "let the nurses who know how to feed a baby" was the straw that broke the camel's back, though. I have done everything he has said minus going to a lactation consultant. They are very expensive. But, my reasoning behind not going isn't only monetary, it's common sense. I have given her bottles after I have fed her. She'll take about 1/2 an ounce. She's just not hungry. She eats on demand and is happy after we're done.

Work Update
In other news, I think I might have to scale back my business. Which is sad, because I was just about to finish getting everything set up. I just don't have the energy, discipline or patience to run it and take care of Kaylee properly. While Brian and I have talked about how to make it work - none of the plans we set up have come close to being implemented. The plans have to be reliable. If not, then I'll fail. I'll fail my clients. I'll give myself a bad rep. Forget that non-sense.

I still have a lot of projects on my plate though. But, I don't think I'll be taking anything new on. It's just too much right now. This terrifies me. I paid a lot of money for my degree. I'm still paying for it. My skills are "Use it or Lose it." I'm hoping once I'm able to get back into this that I can run up to ACC and take a refresher course, then reteach myself all of my tricks.

I'm really sad. I love working. I love what I do. But, I love my daughter and being a SAHM. The decision was not easy, but in another sense, it really was. I just need to raise her into this genius doctor or lawyer so she can take care of mommy since she'll be dumbed down to rock.

Brian has started making cutting boards to sell, so that'll be nice if he can keep that up. It'll help replace the money I was bringing in anyway.

Post-Baby Weight Loss Challenge
And finally, it's time to take off that post-baby weight. That's right. POST-baby weight. I didn't really gain much during my pregnancy. But, as soon as I could eat again (38 weeks), I started packin' on the pounds. I haven't owned a scale in years. Why? Because I end up obsessing about the number. And it's already happening. I know I'm only supposed to weigh myself once a week at most. I weighed myself Monday. 140.6. I weighed myself today. 143.6. WTF?!? How did I gain 3 lbs?!?

Ugh. So, I'm going to try and stay off the scale until Monday. What am I doing to lose weight? Well, for starters, if it's nice outside, then I need to start walking again. Kaylee enjoys being outside, so this will benefit her as well. If it's NOT nice outside, then I need to go to the mall and walk around it. The problem there is that the closest nice mall is 20 minutes away. I want to walk at least 3 times a week.

The other things I want to do is drink more water. I drink it all day as is, but I don't think it's enough. So, I'm aiming for 2 more glasses than I already drink.

My last problem is food. We eat very irregularly around here. Like, some weeks we may not cook or eat dinner at all. Other times, we're both eating lunch and dinner. So, I want to start eating more regularly. We typically eat pretty healthy, so I don't think the kind of food we eat will change too much. Maybe I'll lay off all those fried mushrooms... but, they are SO GOOD. Mushrooms are good for you..... and so are eggs (in the batter).... crap. Ok, I might not give up mushrooms, but I'll try.

Until next time....