Koda's Bathtub Experience

One night last week, Jeff and I kept hearing scratching coming from upstairs. We kept yelling at Koda because he was up in our bedroom; we figured he was digging in the carpet or something. When it didn't stop, I finally sent Jeff upstairs to check it out. He started laughing immediately after he got upstairs and told me to come and see what Koda was up to. When I walked upstairs, Jeff was in the spare bathroom...he pulled back the shower curtain and Koda was there. I guess he had jumped into the tub and couldn't get a grip with his nails to get out. By the time I thought to grab the camera, he was already out of the tub so I figured this was a missed opportunity....but I was wrong. Yesterday, Koda once again decided to get into the tub to check things out (which is crazy because he hates baths) and this time we got shots. Here is Koda hanging out in the bathtub...

It is never a dull moment with Koda in the house!

Landscaping and Lava Rocks

The weather was too beautiful this weekend not to want to spend some time outdoors...this led Jeff and I to once again get a spurt of ambition and want to tackle another landscaping project. This time we focused our attention on two areas on either side of the house that needed some work. On one side, three blue spruce junipers are planted. The plants themselves are thriving, but the previous owners never finished the landscaping job- no bed, no mulch and lots of weeds. On Sunday morning, I set out to visqueen the area and mulch it so that it matched all the other beds in the yard. We also put in a lemon-scented cyprus plant in this bed...it is a pretty green color and smells like lemon. I didn't get any pictures of the beds before (we were too excited to get out there and start working), but here is what the bed looked like after we were finished....

On the other side of the deck, the previous owners rocked the area with little white rocks. They looked stupid, so we decided to pull them up and re-rock the area with lava rocks. The rocks are cool because they match the color of the newly stained deck. Also, this is where the hose generally stays, so landscaping this area would not be smart. Anyway, here are the new lava rocks in place (with new stepping stones as well)...

Kira and Koda stayed out with us the entire time and were good dogs...they actually sat next to each other for a picture (amazing as they never both sit at the same time). Too cute!

Pumpkin Patch

We have been wanting to go to the pumpkin patch farm not far from our house since last Halloween; there were so many pumpkins to choose from. Last year, we were still getting things unpacked, so this year we decided to go and pick out some pumpkins for carving. I was a little nervous as I have not carved a pumpkin since I was a kid, but as this was just picking them out, I decided that nervousness could wait until we actually carved them.

When we arrived at the farm on Saturday, there were at least 200 people in the fields, picking out pumpkins. It was utter chaos! Anyway, Jeff and I walked about 10 feet and he found his pumpkin. About 15 feet from that, I found one that I liked. So, we were in and out of the pumpkin patch in about 20 minutes (after stopping for some pictures and waiting in line to pay). The best part....we got 30 pounds of pumpkins for $ 6.00! Unbelievable. Here are some pictures of the pumpkin patch....

Acres upon acres of pumpkins...

I never remember going to a pumpkin patch as a kid...in Florida, you buy your pumpkins at the grocery store, so this was quite a treat for me!

I would have posted a picture of the two pumpkins we brought home, but they will serve as the "before" picture in a later posting...after we both try our hands at carving!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Koda!

Wednesday was Koda's 3rd birthday. Both Jeff and I are amazed that he has been with us that long. He hasn't always been easy (training was crazy as he is stubborn and dominant) and there were times that I doubted he would make it, but he did. Overall, I think that he has added so much fun and laughter into our family; he definitely has a silly and cute personality. Plus, I think he keeps Kira young by always chasing her around and just being an annoying little brother. Although there are times that she gets upset with him, they are the best of friends and love each other unconditionally.

For Koda's birthday ice cream was on the agenda.....and boy did they love it!

After that, Koda decided that he wanted to play with his Tuffie toy Octopus....here he is waiting patiently for Jeff to throw it...

And finally, some cute pictures that we took this week of Mr. Koda and one of Kira. They are quite the photogenic dogs!

Mr. Koda....up close and personal.


Looking out the window in the upstairs office at the kids playing basketball outside....when he stands like this, he looks like a meer cat!


And a cute one of Kira in the dining room...I like this picture because it looks Halloween-y!


Happy 3rd Birthday, Koda! We love you and hope you are a part of our family for many years to come!

Framing Perfection

Today has been the first day in almost two weeks that I have felt well enough to even think about blogging. As many of you may know, I came down with a nasty stomach virus last Friday, which kept me in bed most of the weekend. On Sunday night, Jeff got it and was down on Monday and Tuesday; he even had to cancel a work trip to California, it was that bad. On Wednesday, I had a small relapse, but today things are looking good and we are both feeling better. Thank goodness as the past week has not been much fun.

Anyway, back to the blog title. I posted a couple of weeks ago that I had enrolled in a matting and framing class. Well, I finally completed my first project...a Tarkay painting that Jeff's parents had given us from one of their crusies. I picked out both the matting and the frame, cut the matting to size and framed the entire picture. It was neat to learn how pictures are matted and framed and now I have the knowledge to do it myself....Cool!

I think it looks professional....what do you think?

Snowy Weekend

This past weekend was an interesting one to say the least. We were forcast to have the first snow of the season (yes, it is only the beginning of October). We were encouraged to drain our sprinkler system and hunker down for the weekend and wait for the snow. On Friday night, Jeff and I ran around getting some grocery necessities to get us through the weekend and worked on draining and capping the sprinkler system. It was a little sad to know that we wouldn't be watering again for awhile, especially since our grass had FINALLY started to come back from the summer grub incident.

Anyway, we got the yard ready and then waited for the snow...and waited...and waited some more. Finally, on Saturday, we decided that if it wasn't going to snow, we were going to take the dogs out for a walk in the neighborhood. It was quite chilly and windy, so we bundled everyone up and braved the cold for some much needed fresh air and exercise. A couple of years ago, Jeff's parents got both Kira and Koda matching fleece jackets for the weather. Koda's was a little large back then, as he was only about a year old. Now, they both fit great so we decided to put them on the dogs. Kira really likes her coat and is always prancing around when it is on like she is a movie star; Koda on the other hand, is humilitated and won't walk until it is taken off. Still, I managed to get a couple good pictures of them in their jackets.

After the cold walk it was back to the house and under the covers. We got warm and cozy under the covers and took a nap. Here are the dogs getting snuggled in.

Finally, as we went to sleep on Saturday night the snow had started to fall. We didn't get a lot, but this is what the house looked like on Sunday morning (with the sky looking ominous for bringing more throughout the day).

It was a relaxing (albeit cold) weekend hanging around the house...it gave us time to think about the crazy winter it looks like we are in for!

A Lesson in Spell Check

I am currently taking a matting and framing class offered through the school district that we live in. Although I have only been to one class so far, the class seems promising. I will learn to measure art work and pictures for matting and then will get to assemble the frame, attach everything together and take it home. I am really looking forward to framing some art work we have around the house (and maybe my diploma). Anyway, I digress....

The class is held at Indian Hills Middle School in Sandy, which is clear on the other side of the valley from our house. Last Monday night I was googling the school to get an address for Tuesday's class. On the front page of the website, this is what I saw.....

Wow, I am REALLY glad my kids will not go to this school to be educated....Looks like someone should have ran spell check before they posted to the web. Hmmm, any good names for the new "schol" district?

I just had to share....

Getting to Know Me...Better

I was tagged on a few of my friends blogs to write 7 things that people probably don't know about me. This was not as hard as I initially thought; wow, I guess I am a really strange person. After you read my 7 things, see if you agree....

(1) I am deathly afraid of midgets/little people- This is a phobia that I have had for quite a while and I can't really explain it except to say that they freak me out because they are a normal sized person in half the sized body. Speaking in chemistry terms, that means they are more concentrated (2x more so) than regular people. Trust me, if I see one, I turn my head and generally run the other direction. Even though my brother is constantly trying to get me to watch "Little People, Big World" on TLC, I have resisted.

(2) I LOVE the smell of gasoline as it is being pumped at the station. I can't explain it, it just has a good smell to me. This has been somewhat curbed in the last little while however, as the cost of gas far outweighs the good smell of it for me lately.

(3) I HATE Harrison Ford and all the movies that he has ever starred in. Yes, that means I have never seen the Star Wars or Indiana Jones movies. Although many think this makes me un-American, I beg to differ; the turn off for me is that he always plays the good guy in every movie he is in- he is the president that is trying to be assassinated or the worngly accused fugitive trying to flee. Why can't he ever be the evil one?

(4) Although I love to, I can't sing....at all. In elementary school, I wanted to join the choir and my mom told me that in order to join, I needed to lip synch! Although she was so right, it was a little hard to accept. Thanks mom, for being so honest back then....and thanks Jeff, for putting up with me all these years as I sing in the car!

(5) There is very little food that I don't like and even less that I won't try....but a few of these include sausage (I don't like sage at all), and shrimp (I don't like that you can see their veins...even after they are cooked~ gross!).

(6) One of my biggest pet peeves is when people wear black pants and then put on brown shoes and a brown belt....WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING???? If you are going to wear black clothes, then you need to have black accessories....otherwise you just look dishelveled and dumb. This is especially true for men in suits...if the suit is black, wear black shoes. If the suit is brown, wear brown shoes. If the suit is navy, then you can wear either (but I think black is more appropriate). And remember, these rules are absolute and not up for discussion....NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

(7) I can't drive a manual transmission car....I know, I have a Ph.D. and everything, but I have never been able to successfully drive a stick shift. Once, Jeff tried to teach me on his Pontiac Vibe GT...all I did was cause the car to smoke really bad and smell funny. He hasn't tried to teach me since, so I figure that I had to do pretty bad. Guess I'll never have a really cool fast and sporty car...only an automatic for me, thanks!

Well, there's 7 things you probably never knew about me and if you already did...you must be a good friend (or close family)!

Veggies from Our Garden

Well, I doubted that it would even happen, but we FINALLY got some gratification for all our gardening efforts this weekend....three yellow sqaush and a zucchini! I was pretty excited, as I thought our gardening efforts this year were in vain. There are a TON more yellow squash coming up however, so it looks like our garden is preferential to squash varieties. Who cares...I am just glad we have some kind of harvest (albeit a small one). This year was a learning experience (and I learned A LOT), so next year our garden should ROCK!

A Memorable Birthday

Well, my birthday finally came on Tuesday, even though I was dreading its arrival. For a lot of reasons, the first being that turning 30 just didn't sit very well with me. I was a little depressed about it...until I realized it was going to happen regardless of whether I wanted it to or not. But, more to come on that later.

Anyway, another reason I was bummed was that the Department of Health was releasing a large fish advisory for mercury in the state. I was listed as a media contact on the press release, so I knew that it was going to be a long day. As soon as the release went to the press, we begin to be bombarded with calls from the media. By the end of the day, I had spoken with three newspapers and been interviewed for both TV and radio. So, yes, I was on TV for my birthday...What a memorable 30th birthday. Here are some of the links where I was mentioned...

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4403096 TV interview with KSL news (local NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City). You can also hear my radio interview through this same link.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10604809?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.com Salt Lake Tribune article

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810010320 The Spectrum newspaper which is a large paper in the southern part of the state. They were especially concerned bacause one of the affected waterbodies, Sand Hollow Reservoir, was in their area.

As if that was not tiring enough, I still had to come home and celebrate my birthday. Thank goodness for Jeff because he made dinner that night...I was too exhausted to be of any help. After dinner, I opened presents. I got some really nice gifts inlcuding an 80G iPodfrom Jeff and my family (Jeff, mom and Mike and Jim- thanks!), with a case and a subscription to a program called Ares Vista which allows me to download all the songs I want off the internet to put on the iPod (thanks Kate)! I also got three crystal Swarovski crsytal penguins that sit on a small glass ice berg (thanks mom and dad2). Joe, Julie and the kids got me a really cool book about how to prune and perserve roses and some really neat things you can do with them after they have dried. I also got one of the coolest things I have ever seen...it is a device that removes the thorns from rose stems! What a cool idea because I HATE rose thorns. Thanks Joe, Julie, Jay, Ella and Wyatt. I also got some new Jodi Picoult books and a set to help my nails grow and get stronger. Oh, and I got a really cool music box frame from my mom with a poem about how proud she is of me....it made me cry! It is in my office at work so I can always remember how proud she is of me.

After that it was a small piece of strawberry swirl cheesecake and off to bed....what a crazy day. I am glad birthdays only come around once every year.

Oh, and here is a cool plaque that someone at work gave me for my birthday....and it is so true (thanks, McKell...we hung it in the foyer so it is the first thing you see when you come through the door...just to remind people who visit! :-)).

Thanks, everyone for a great 30th birthday!

Sweet Dreams, Kira and Koda!

Every Monday-Thursday, I get up and have left for work before Jeff is even out of bed. So most mornings I try to be as quiet as possible when getting ready, so as not to disturb him or the puppies. On Monday morning I guess I did a really good job of being quiet because this is how both Kira and Koda were sleeping while I was getting ready...

Kira was on the floor on her pillow bed (notice her puppy is not far away)

And Koda was on the bed next to Jeff with his hedgehog. This is a new toy for Koda (although he is already missing a foot...poor hedgehog).

No one believes me that my dogs sleep with toys, but they do and here's the proof!