Home Improvements?

Lee and I bought this house about a year ago. When we moved in, the house had the master bedroom, a regular size bedroom, and a closet they called a bedroom that is in the basement. We dont plan on selling for awhile, but if we ever want to sell, we need 3 actual bedrooms. In the front room, there is the living room, and the dining room. The layout of this house is so random, which is the biggest reason why we loved it. However, the kitchen is across the hallway and a room away from the dining room. We never eat in there because its more work to get the food there, than it is to sit in the kitchen at our little table.

Lee and I had decided that we were going to convert the dining room back into a bedroom. We are pretty sure the dining room was originaly a bedroom. Whoever patched the door with sheet rock did a horrible job. Lee kept telling me that we would start this project, but the start date kept getting changed. So I had to take matters into my own hands... 

As you can tell this is a work in process. We would have gotten more done this weekend, but yesterday our water heater literally exploded. Lee and his brother Glenn replaced it and fixed it, so hopefully we dont have to clean up 50 gallons of water again..

Go!! Oh!!! NOOOOOO UTAH!

On Saturday we had the ultimate Utah football home game. The yearly TCU VS UTAH blackout game. We woke up early to go to ESPN Game Day, talked some trash talk to TCU fans, made signs, and even got my face painted with my nephew.

ESPN had a bunch of stuff to do at the Game Day broadcast. If you got your face painted you got a free T-shirt, and lucky for Lee, the only had MAN size shirts. So he got my awesome shirt instead.

As Tanner gets older, he looks more and more like my brother Shane. It is crazy.

Swoop and I

We would throw up our "U"s whenever the camera went over head, and show our clever sign.

 The atmosphere was so fun at Game Day. Everyone was so pumped up for the game. People had gotten there like around 5 A. M. I am not a morning person, so there was no way you were getting me there that early. I think we made it there around 8 or so...

After Game Day was over, we went to tailgate up on the top lot where we always park, I made some fajitas, and debated on how the events of the game would happen...

 This was right before kick off, the stadium was so loud. Everyone was "blacked-out".
We were so pumped for the game to begin.

 Getting our game faces on!!! Lets go UTES!!!

The game faces didnt last long. The Utes went a full 3 quarters with no score, not even a field goal. Watching this game was painful, and so embarrassing. The Utes were ranked #5, and TCU #3. Well, there is a big reason that TCU is ranked higher than the Utes. They for sure killed the Utes. Utah finally was saved by Matt Asiata's TD. At least we scored something..

At least I had this little girl to play with while the Utes were embarrassing themselves.

Cutest little Utes fan ever!

Halloween, and random updates!

Since Halloween fell upon a Sunday,  and I had to work on Saturday we missed the trick or treater's. However, I wasn't about to not dress up.....my dogs. My little pup Ruby loves her sweaters. It cracks me up, I love to dress her up. I guess when I was growing up and was never interested in dolls or dress up, has finally caught up with me. Instead of Barbie, I have Ruby. It has been determined that Sadie is Lee's dog, and Ruby is mine. We both love our little dogs, but they for sure have picked their masters. These girls love "RIDES", in fact that is almost a four letter word in our house, if you say it, you better mean it, because the go crazy. Notice Ruby's way cute scary sweater.

 

look at those smiles!

These dogs are like our kids, so I thought it was only fitting to dress them up for Halloween. The original plan was to dress Ruby up like Yoda, but then I quickly realized that our whole family would have to be Star Wars characters, and i was not okay with that. I made Lee play along, and we tried to take a family picture with the timer on the camera. The following are our "attempts":

 

These are two loving sisters

And as if we didn't look like big enough dog freaks..... ( Lee is such a good sport, I come up with these "good" ideas, and he is always willing to go along with them). I found pumpkin carving templates online, that looked like our dogs. We originally got 4 pumpkins, two for us, and two for the dogs. We only got around to carving the dog's pumpkins.

 Here is Lee's. His looks a lot more like a dog than mine does. This is supposed to be Sadie, and I think he did a pretty good job. Captures our dog's big smile.

Here is my attempt at carving Ruby. Its hard to tell, but there was a lot of "shading"(ya know when you scratch away the orange part of the pumpkin??). So as of now, this pumpkin looks like a lion...but in the day light, it totally looks like a mini schnauzer..kinda.

Oh..and ya...chopped my hair.  It was a lot shorter, but have promised Lee to let it grow out. I am hoping for a pretty awesome mullet. Ya know....business in the front and party in the back!!!

Vet Tech?

I have been pondering my education for quite sometime. Seeing as how I have not gone back to school for 2 semesters. I was working on a mass comm degree. I have my associates in general studies from SLCC. However I have been thinking more and more of what I want to do with my life. I have a good job now, but its for sure not something I want to do forever. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a big animal lover. I have been considering enrolling into a vet tech program. I do know that in the state of Utah you dont have the be licensed, but I would rather have the leg up. If anyone knows about this field (ERICA) please give me some advice. After having to put my buddy to sleep, and watching my 2 dogs grow up, I know I want to work with animals. Thoughts??

My Buddy

Last Saturday I was faced with a very difficult decision. My dog Bandit, who I have had since I was 12 was very sick. He started acting very lethargic and wouldn't eat anything unless you forced him. Anyone that has met Bandit knows he is like a garbage disposal and would eat just about anything. He is the only dog I know of that would eat cooked tomatoes. Knowing that he was acting out of character I made a vet visit appointment for him. With my job being as lame as it is, I couldn't get time off to take him in, so my mom had to take him in. After Dr. Belnap checked him out and did some blood work, the prognosis came back and it wasn't a good one. Bandit had 3 tumors, and was in kidney failure. With Bandit's size and age of 12, Dr. Belnap said he is like a 93 year old man. We discussed our options with Dr. Belnap, who said surgery was out of the question, and at best he would have a few months, but would basically starve to death.  After hearing that news we knew what we needed to do, as hard as it would be, it is what was best for my buddy. Friday night I stayed at my mom's and slept on the floor for a little while with my dog for his last night, and rubbed his back and told him it was okay to go. On Saturday morning we took Bandit to the park before going to the vet. He explored around the park, and had enough energy to even roll around in the grass., We then took him to Dr. Belnap's office and put him to sleep. He went very peacefully, and I really think he knew what was happening and knew that this was best for him. We didn't want him to suffer, and it would have just been us being selfish by keeping him alive longer. After leaving Dr. Belnap's office we took Bandit home and buried him next to his girlfriend, Kiera, who had been hit by a car a year ago. I can just imagine them playing with tennis balls, and wrestling again. Makes me smile to think of the two of them playing together again. Brings a tear to my eye to think Bandit isn't around, but as a dog mom, I had to make the best decision for him. My mom left the decision up to me, since he was my dog. Bandit and I grew up together, and he always took care of me. I can remember anytime I was sad, Bandit would be right there to give me a lick and cuddle, and when I was happy he was there waging his tail like crazy. He was an amazing dog and could never be replaced. I love my little rug rat dogs that we have, but Bandit was truly man woman's best friend. Lee made me feel better by telling me his Dad was probably throwing a tennis ball for Bandit, and that his Dad would take care of him now. Lee and my girls ( Sadie and Ruby ) even sent my flowers at work on Friday to make me feel better. What a cute family I have.

I will for sure miss Bandit, but know that he is happy and playing like crazy now. I also wanted to say thank you to Dr. Eric Belnap for being so kind and comforting to my mom, and I. He allowed us to be there with Bandit, and take him home to be buried in his yard. Thank you for your kind words and hugs.

Pine View Weekend

This weekend we basically lived at the lake. On Saturday, Lee's boss invited us up to watch the wake board competition and hang out on his boat. We both got so burnt. But it was well worth it.

We had such a good time we deiced we wanted to come back up to the lake on Sunday and hangout on the beach and let the dogs play. We hadn't taken Sadie swimming yet so we were excited to see how she would do. And as far as Ruby goes, we didn't think she would be much of a swimmer, and we were right.    

 We tried to get Ruby to swim, but she hated it, so she spent most of the day lounging in a camping chair, or playing with my brother's dog Henry.

 Sadie loved the water, at first she was a little scared, but Lee got in the water to ease her fears. It wasn't to long after that she "took to the water like a fish". She loved diving in after her tennis ball. Or saving Lee whenever he looked as if he was in peril, she would swim to his rescue.

These dogs sure had a great time, and were very tired on the way home, they both slept like logs in the back seat of the truck.

Thanks to Andy and Michelle for making the drive to hang out at the lake. This post wouldn't be complete without their shining faces...

Introducing Ruby Sue

 I have converted Lee into being a dog lover.  We have our little Sadie lady, and we adore her. For the longest time I thought she needed a friend, because when we we're gone at work she would tear up socks and laundry because they smelled like us. My brother Andy's friend was getting a divorce, and their little dog didn't have anywhere to go. We we're this little dogs last hope, or otherwise she was off to the pound. I couldn't let a dog go to the pound when we have the room for one more at our home. I pleaded with Lee, and played the sympathy card that we we're this dogs last hope. Without much debate, we welcomed this little dog into our home the next day. Sadie wasn't to sure about her at first, but they quickly became friends and they play all the time, and even cuddle up against each other when they sleep. She is a little firecracker! She is a mini schnauzer, and has a little bit of the barking that comes with a smaller dog, but other than that she is just a lovable dog. She always wants to be right next to people and if you let her she would cuddle all day with you.

Sweet Lee

My sweet pea Lee is amazing. I woke up Saturday with a awful head cold, without even having to ask for medicine,  Lee asked me if I needed anything. I told him I was all congested and had a headache. Being the husband he is, he knew we didn't have any cold medicine, he volunteered to go to the store for me and fetch me some medicine. So cute.

Not to long after he left he returned home with medicine, but also all the fixings to make a great breakfast. Bless his heart, Lee needs some assistance in the kitchen, so I ended up making breakfast. After all, it was the least I could do for him, after he ran to the store without me even asking. Love that man.

OH! P.S. Totally won the weight loss challenge. I didn't end up winning the $100, instead I managed to talk Lee into buying a new bedroom set and new king mattress. In his words, "Whatever makes you happy my dear". We are going to start remodeling the bedroom, and I plan to put Lee's carpentry skills to use. Pictures to follow.

Almost there!

The weight loss challenge continues!!

I am at my goal weight, and am maintaining it. Lee did say that when the end of the month comes whomever is at their goal weight wins. In the event that we both meet our goal weight it will come down to who lost more, once meeting their goal weight.

so....

I am kicking Lee's butt pretty much. Lee told me today that he is still 11 pounds away from his goal. Suddenly I'm not so worried about this challenge anymore.

However, I did go grocery shopping and got a lot of temptation food for Lee. All is fair in love,weight loss and war.

28 day challenge

On 1/31/2010 Lee decided that he wanted to start a challenge. He put $100 bucks on the line, which got me interested. Lee challenged me to a weight loss challenge. Whoever gets to their goal weight by the end of the month of February wins the cash, and can spend it however they like. I felt pretty confidant that I could beat him in this challenge so I accepted.

Lee needs to lose 20 pounds to get to his goal weight.

Katie needs to lose 5.5 pounds to get to her goal weight.

Seems like I should win right? Well, those dang boys lose weight a lot easier than girls do. On 2/1/2010, Lee informed me that he had all ready lost 2 pounds.

This is going to be a long month. Lee knows that I wont eat fish or eggs, so on Monday he called me to inform me that he had bought all this food that was going to help him beat me. I came home to a house that smelt like tuna and boiled eggs. GAG!!! In the spirit of competition, I hit up the store for my own food to help me stick to the plan. Our fridge looks like there was a line drawn in the sand. His food is on one side, and mine on the other!

So far I haven't missed a day of working out, and don't plan to lose this challenge. If anyone wants to go for a jog let me know.

I'll keep you updated.

Belly Rub?

Sadie is so spoiled, and I think she knows that she can pretty much get whatever she wants. She has this new habit, and I don't know where she picked it up. If me or Lee are sitting down and one of our legs are crossed, so one of our foots is in the air she will come over to it so we can pet her with out feet. You may be saying, ya that's normal for dogs to do. But wait, there's more! When she comes over, if we don't start petting her right away she will lift her back leg, and extend it out so we can reach her belly. The first couple of times she did it, we thought it was a fluke, but its now a everyday occurrence.

I think I need one

My cute friend Maria just adopted a English Bulldog. He is adorable. She brought him into work to show me and I considered stealing him. I think these dogs are adorable, in the way, they are so ugly that they are cute. Lee doesn't see the same level of cuteness that I do, and I havent convinced him enough that we can get one. Don't get me wrong I love my little Sadie, but I think as a dog parent, its unfair of me to deprive her of having a friend. Ha ha, I think I might try to pitch that angle to Lee! Wish me luck.

Wanna ride my hog?

Today when I was driving home I saw the coolest guy on the freeway. When I saw him it made me miss my scooter. But after gliding through the intersection like shamu and over the top of a Jeep, Lee says I cant have another scooter. You almost get hit by one car, and then all of a sudden you cant have another scooter. Jeeze, he is so particular! Just kidding.

But seriously. If I ever get another scooter, I want to be like this guy!!!

Snowcross!!

For Christmas I got Lee tickets to Snow Cross, since he loves anything with an engine. He used to be a big time snowmobiler, and still loves it even though he doesnt have a snowmobile right now. It was the first year that snowcross came to Utah, and it was in the new Rio Tinto stadium. The event was outside, and was sooo cold!! We knew it would be cold, so we dressed accordingly, but according to Lee it was "biting" cold. Im pretty sure that just means it was way cold! I think it was around 25 degrees. I was trying to be a trooper, so I never asked to leave or complain when I was cold. I thought for sure Lee would have wanted to stay for the whole thing, but after the pro races Lee turned to me with rosy cheeks and a red nose and asked if I was ready to go because he was cold.

These guys were getting so high off the jump and doing tricks!

So high!!!

Lee loved this snowcat, he said he wanted one. When I asked him what he would do with it, he said he would just drive it around and plow the roads for people. He is such a little kid!!

Over all the night was fun. After we left we were trying to run to the truck, and our feet were so cold it hurt to run because we kept getting charlie horses. To top off our date night, we got some of the best pizza in Utah from Zeponies and just hung out at home.

Proud Mama!

We are so proud of our little Sadie. She is such a quick learner. She all ready knew sit when we got her, and she picked up on lay down pretty quickly. We wanted to expand her repertoire and teach her some new tricks. We thought "shake" would be a good one, she mastered it in 2 days!! I don't know who was more excited about her progress, her or us. We are like proud parents! We will be teaching her new tricks as time goes on.