Weddin' Stuff

Things have really calmed down at Casa de Newton since the wedding. A lot of people have asked me, "how's married life?" and I usually respond, "stress free". We're not planning a wedding or vacation out of the country anymore. The first month back was a big adjustment because our pace slowed so much. Then school started and I threw myself into class work. I did manage to print the wedding photos I liked (many, many bad ones in there that I wouldn't print if you paid me) and I purchased a photo album for them.

I got it at Khols. I didn't even know they sold photo albums there but Barbara set me straight. This past weekend I also hung our wedding tree.

I purchased the frame at Ikea the same weekend I got the photo album. I decided to go ahead and hang the pretty tree this weekend (again, with Jeff's help). It goes so well with the decor in Sandi's room and it's such a happy picture and a happy memory.

Trees Stink?

The answer is a loud and smelly yes. Some of you may know this already but I cannot stand the smell of Bradford Pear trees when they are in bloom. The smell is cloying and chocking and reminds me of vomit and fish. They look beautiful but they stink something awful until the leaves come in, which is also beautiful. Well, this weekend I visited my folks (sorry mom, I had to post about this) and as soon as I got out of my car in their driveway I wanted to run for the front door (or shut myself back into my car).

The smell from this tree assaulted me immediately. I actually have a lot of dislike for this tree. It leaves sap on your hood and windshield and every now and then bees treat it like Florida (a warm place to retire and die) and you have like, a dozen dead bees on your hood. It does provide shade for the house and some privacy but I think this smelling business might be the final straw.

Do you see that stuff oozing out? That's what smells so bad. If I could describe the smell I would say it's somewhere between hot poo and dead deer. A stinkfall of hot poo and dead deer. Foul stuff. Oh, and per request, here is a picture of Remy.

We had more bad weather yesterday. We did not put Sandi in her thundershirt and she stayed under the bed for hours but Remy stayed with me on the couch resting and waiting out the storm. I finished my last assignment for class this week so now I just have to wait for my grades (commence fingernail biting).

Thundershirt

I know I've mentioned before how scared Sandi gets during thunderstorms. The same thing happens with firecrackers and gunshots (yes, we hear gunshots near our house a few days a week). Sandi usually lets us know the weather is about to get bad before we even see a cloud in the sky; her tail tucks between her legs, her ears stick up on the sides, and she starts to pant and shake. If the storm is really severe she goes under the bed and stays there for hours and sometimes she needs help getting out. My friend Jennifer told us about the Thundershirt.

Their logo is so cute, the little dog is trying to comfort himself with a hug. It's supposed to ease anxiety for pets. We decided to go ahead and get one this past weekend. We've had thunderstorms nearly every day for two weeks now and will continue at least through this week. We tried it Monday night.

Sandi was still shaking but she didn't even try to go under the bed and I consider that to be a big improvement. She likes to stay in the bathroom because we can turn on the fan and the noise of the fan drowns out the thunder. Remy doesn't seem to mind storms or gunshots or firecrackers. He hates the water hose, power tools and the lawnmower. He runs for cover, usually into Jeff's truck because the doors are always open.

Ants!

The yard and the house have been taken over by ants! They're not crawling all over us or anything but they have made themselves comfortable in nearly every room of the house. The only place that seems untouched is our bedroom and I've got a feeling it won't be long before they occupy it as well. It all started over a month ago in the usual places of the kitchen and bathroom. Jeff sprayed and we waited and they seemed to be gone. Then a couple days later they'd be back again. One evening out on the deck we noticed hundreds of ants were crawling along the garden lights from the tree to the deck. We left them up after the wedding. They look so pretty at night that we thought we might leave them for a while.

We decided we had to take them down and hoped that would put an end to the ant problems. Nope. They attacked our kitchen, especially the dishwasher, they attacked the dog bowls, they've been coming from an outlet behind my coffee pot, they're all over the covered porch, the driveway, and yes, they're still on the deck. Right now I'm watching them crawling around in Sandi's room in a corner behind my floor lamp. They want my clothes! We keep spraying a waiting to see if that will help. Has anyone had issues with ants in the house? Do you have any suggestions? I think what's confusing me the most is that they're not getting to the food or water sources (maybe some of the water). There is nothing of interest to ants in Sandi's room (other than my aforementioned clothes). I found them on my desk this morning. And on my new moose. I am beyond irate at this point.

Dream Kitchen

I had another fun trip to IKEA yesterday. The campus from the 4th through the rest of the week; hooray!! Barbara was happy enough to join me on another IKEA trip. I went there specifically to get a couple large picture frames for our wedding tree artwork and a map of St. Lucia I purchased on eBay. I also wanted to check out their bedsheets. I did purchase two frames, some cheap wash clothes and a set of 6 drawer organizers. One of the many things I love about IKEA is how the set up entire rooms so you can see how different pieces of furniture work together. If you've ever been to an IKEA you'll remember pretty living rooms, offices, closets and kitchens beautifully assembled from floor to ceiling; and with artwork. They had my dream kitchen expertly displayed and arranged.

I don't love the layout. Galley kitchens are no ones favorite if space permits a larger design. I do love the white bead board-esque cabinets, the glass front cabinets, the black hardware, the oven range hood, the double ovens, the farm house sink, the butcher block counter tops (I'm not a big fan of granite for some reason), the crisp white tile back splash, and I absolutely love the paint color. I had to take pictures for future reference. Another item I had to take a picture of was their new unfinished furniture.

Jeff is adamant about getting real wood whenever possible. These were reasonably priced and ready for stain or paint color of your choice. The 3-drawer dresser at the front end is only $79. The drawer pulls could be gussied up also to make them more unique. IKEA has so many wonderful things to fill any room of a home.

Appendix, Schmamendix

I had an interesting weekend. It actually began to get interesting Thursday afternoon. I started having stomach pains and nausea. Around 9pm it subsided, only to wake me up at 1:30am and 4am with a vengence. The pain continued on throughout the morning along with waves of nausea. Mom came to visit me at work a little after 11am and we were going to have lunch at noon. We decided to drive to Macon to a quickmed instead. I was there for over 3 hours. They took some blood, gave me a pain pill and told me to go directly to the ER for a CT scan and said I would most likely need an appendectomy. I was unconvinced. I'd just seen the episode of The Office where Dwight has appendicitis. I was not vomiting, sweating, or running a fever. I did have severe lower right abdominal pain and a few other symptoms. They took more blood in the ER, poked my stomach and said it looked like appendicitis but the CT scan would tell them for sure. I had to drink the lovely contrast stuff and wait two hours for it to do its job. During that time mom and I talked, watched TV, I played with my iPad, and did other various things to help pass the time.

Jeff arrived shortly after I finished the CT scan. When I was first admitted to the ER secondary waiting room surgery seemed imminent and I would need some things to stay overnight. I proceeded to text Jeff a long list of random items. He brought them all with a smile. The CT results came back NEGATIVE for appendicitis. Diagnosis: Unknown. By this point I was no longer in pain because of the magical pain medication they gave me at the quickmed. I was however, exhausted. I signed my release papers and wanted to visit the bathroom once more before the ride back to Milledgeville. As soon as I stood up the nausea hit me like a truck and even though I hadn't eaten anything since 10am I threw up all the lovely contrast. They gave me a shot for the nausea. We left the hospital shortly after 10pm. Jeff's mom came down all the way from Alpharetta to stay with the dogs in case Jeff had to stay with me at the hospital and she heated some soup for me. I slept until 10am the next day. I mostly ate soup and crackers, watched TV, and slept the entire weekend. I feel like my teeth might fall out if I don't get some nutrients soon so I'm going to work on eating fruits and veggies today. I'm grateful for my family and the fact that I didn't have to have surgery. I wish I knew that was causing all that pain but I'm super glad it's gone. I'm feeling fine, not 100% but so much better than Friday.

The Other White Meat?

I know, bad joke. It occurred to me that I never posted about all my white ceramic animals. I was finally dusting this weekend (the first time since before the wedding, judge me all you want but take a swipe on a surface in your house, go ahead, I'll wait. See that thin grey smudge? Yep, get to work) and decided to take some pictures. This big guy/gal was my birthday present from my folks last year.

Many of you may recognize it from Young House Love.

It is slightly different from theirs and it came from ZGallerie. Here are my other little albino friends.

I considered painting the bull next to my Harry Potter collection (every item that wasn't already white on the bookshelf was spray painted) but Jeff really like it as it was.

It's very heavy and is probably the most expensive thing I've ever purchased at Hobby Lobby. Jeff said it reminds him of the Wall Street bull.

Also this weekend, I think it was Sunday night, the sunset looked like this.

Absolutely gorgeous. Living on the lake in the summer has it's downsides (the heat is a little more intense) but it sure is pretty at night.

Fantastic

We've had another change in Sandi's room. About two years ago our bedroom ceiling fan died. The natural solution was to 'borrow' the fan from Sandi's room. Well, now that I'm spending more time in there working on fun, fun school stuff I've noticed the lack of air circulation and the heat from the sun. Jeff and I looked at options at Lowe's and decided to come back at a later date to make a decision. A couple weeks ago he bought a fan at a garage sale for $3. Today he installed it. Within an hour the ceiling went from this...

to this...

Jeff is just so handy. That's one of the many great things about being with Jeff. Another great thing is he can find a Hunter ceiling fan for $3. The whole process was easy breezy. Well, Jeff had to do all the work, I just handed him things while he was up on the ladder.

And now for some animal photography. Most mornings while I head to work I see a deer. When I have my camera she runs and hides (like in this shot).

When I don't have my camera she stands close to the fence, confident and proud. I'll get a better shot one day. This is an interesting lizard that was waiting for me when I got home from work one day.

Kind of creepy but he ran away quickly enough. And here's the dogs in the 'garden'. Sandi is air born in this shot.

They love to jump about in the tall weeds. 

Also, this is how refined our dogs are. They eat with a fork. And take turns.

However, they are eating a hot dog so I don't know how 'refined' that can be.

The Pioneer Woman

Have you seen her cooking show on Food Network? I set my DVR to record all her shows ever since the pilot episode. I found out about the show while reading a post on The Lettered Cottage. Apparently the pioneer woman, Ree, and Layla from LC are great friends. I knew nothing of the pioneer woman's blog or cookbooks or anything but I've grown to enjoy everything she does. I'm reading her biography The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and it's a lot of fun.

She writes very well and it's a humorous story of how she and her husband met and fell in love. I also read this post yesterday on her blog (it's an older post) and laughed until I cried. Her recipes look really yummy and her life style (living on a cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere, homeschooling 4 children, etc) is so very different from my own that I can't help but want to learn more. If she has a book signing in the Atlanta area any time soon I want to try my best to be there.

One of Each, Please

I was browsing the delectable blog cupcakes take the cake and I came across this fun and yummy chart.

How did I not already know about this? I love Disney and I love cupcakes. Seems like a match made in Heaven to me. In other happy news I got my CR-V back last Friday. Me and my CR-V, another match made in Heaven.