Free Download - Spring Card

Spring is in the air! Are you feeling it? Well, even if you aren't, you can send some Springy cheer to someone with this little card:

Click here to Download (PDF 113 KB)

I was feeling a little touched by Spring the other day, eager to feel the warmer weather and see the grass again (after months and months of snow), and so was a bit inspired to whip a little something up. Just download the file, then you can print it out, cut it up, fold it and pop it in an envelope for something extra special for someone this season. Or you can even make gift tags, use the design for scrapbooking, modge podge it onto Easter eggs - the possibilities are endless! Oh, and best of all? It's free.

If you decide to make the card, it is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" and will fit inside a standard  A2 (4 3/8 x 5-3/4") envelope, and I've included corner marks to make things a bit easier on ya when you're workin' those scissors.

(In case you're wondering what the gray logo on the back is, Magruder Designs is the name of my graphic design freelance business. Interested in my other work? Visit my website magruderdesigns.com.)

Enjoy, and Happy Spring!

Disclaimer: As far as I am aware, this file does not contain any viruses, however, you download at your own risk. By downloading this file, you are agreeing to the terms of use. This file is for personal use only - any profit and any editing of the digital file or any elements within is prohibited. You are free to use the design any way you like once the design is printed. Also, the design is my work - please be respectful of copyright laws. Thank you!

Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 3 "Base Operations"

If you've been following along with us on this adventure, then you'll know that we've already planned our adventure and then demo'd (always the fun part!) to get to Part 3: Base Operations. Or rather, creating the base for our new granite tile countertops. Before we began this phase of the project, our kitchen looked like this:

Since we are basically building our countertops from scratch, it goes without saying that we needed to build something super-study, unyielding and unmoving, and able to handle the weight of cement, mortar, and many square feet of solid stone granite tiles, not to mention anything else we will actually set on the counter (like our Kitchenaid mixer, which I think weighs about a ton). For this purpose, we used plywood.

We purchased several sheets of thick plywood for our "First Base", and took our measurements (pictured below) to Lowe's and had them cut the sheets to size for us.

To get our measurements it actually wasn't too difficult, we just measured our current countertops (when we still had them, that is), and then adjusted the overhang to the depth we wanted (3/4"). It took a bit more math to figure out the cuts per sheet to save money, but the math genius there (Mr. Tom) got it all squared away, no prob. (good thing too because math really isn't my strong point).

Once we had all our cuts we headed home with the beginnings of our beautiful new countertops, all pumped and excited about the project...

... and once home, we realized we should have thought about our cuts a little more. Oops.

At the points where the pieces of plywood met, the joints, there was nothing to secure the plywood to underneath it... except open air. Which makes for a not-stable-at-all countertop base. BIG oops.

So we were stumped, and frustrated, and oh-so-sure that we had made a huge mistake and would have to go back on yet another trip to Lowe's to get new plywood cut so that the joints would fall on a cabinet side, instead of in the middle of the cabinet.

And then Mr. Math Genius had a bright idea.

He grabbed some leftover wood from when we demo'd our countertops, cut them down a bit, and secured the thick pieces of wood to the inside of the cabinets, right where the plywood joints would be, creating support beams. For extra stability, he also carved out notches at each end of the inside of cabinet top, and laid the wood pieces right in there, like it was sitting in a little wooden seat. Then he secured it by drilling a ton of screws in it. Problem solved!

So after tackling our latest oversight/obstacle, it was time to level the plywood countertops. Which turned out to be a whole 'nother adventure, as well.

As a general rule, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, in our house is level. Heck, our new garage door had to be installed slanted at an angle because the garage floor isn't level. And yes, you can totally tell.


Anyways, countertops must be level. Regardless of roller-coaster-ride curvy walls, unlevel floors and of course cabinet bases. Our new plywood bases needed to be level, front-to-back, side-to-side, diagonal, everything - because think about it: if I spill something on the countertop (which is inevitable with my cooking skills), do I want it to cascade down onto our beautiful and clean floor? No thanks.

Luckily Unluckily for us, none of the cabinet tops were level. Were we surprised? Nope, it was just as we expected, naturally. So we leveled and leveled, and if an area needed to be higher, we used shims to give it a boost. We figured if they worked to level out door frames they would work for a countertop.

We have two inside corners, and for these guys we just double-checked that we had the plywood down correctly by squaring them.

Next we securely screwed those babies down with lots (and I mean LOTS) of wood screws, pretty much everywhere the plywood came into contact with the cabinet base tops. Remember, sturdy sturdy sturdy is the magic word here.

Then it was time to cut out the sink. We followed the installation instructions on our new sink and traced around it while it was upside down on the plywood base, then measured 5/16" inside the traced shape to get the actual area to be cut.

Then Mr. Handyman grabbed his Handy Helper (aka, his Skil jigsaw tool) and got to work cutting the sink hole in the plywood.

And I got to hold the cutout while he cut it. And of course I screamed as, for the second time, something the size of a sink fell into the cabinet and onto our antique and fragile plumbing. Oops.

But everything was a-okay, as we again detected no drips or fountains of spraying water coming from under there (and we weren't too worried since the plumbing, while appearing very fragile and old, is apparently stronger than it looks, as it survived a 60 pound cast iron sink falling on it, as well).

 We set our new sink into the hole to make sure it fit... doesn't it just look so purdy? We didn't want to take it out again!

We took our Dremel tool (we scored a good deal on that baby - normally it's an 80 dollar tool, but we found it on clearance at Target for 25 - sweet!), and trimmed the remaining bits of wood left after we knocked off the shims.

Then we cleaned up all the wood chips and chunks and admired our new plywood countertops:

Slowly but surely, we are getting there! We are taking our time, but we want to do this thing right, and want it to survive the next 50 years, just like our old laminate countertops did. Our next step, the "Second Base" was to cut, lay, and secure cement backing board overtop of the plywood for a sturdy, thick and unwarping foundation to lay the tiles on. Stay tuned for that adventure!

Next Phase: Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 4 "Second Base"

Spring Improvement Bug

Yup, we've got the Spring Cleaning bug... but rather, for us, it's the Spring Improvement bug - in both the virtual and real worlds. So I've cleaned up the blog a little, because I am always looking for ways to improve the function and ease of use of This Fresh Fossil blog. And while that means I am constantly recategorizing, tagging, and rearranging the posts so they may be easier to find and navigate to, it's Spring and I felt a little need for some more organization on here (and I think Jen over at IHeartOrganizing also inspired me, too!).

During the Design Update, where I updated with a more functional redesign to the blog, I also added the pages across the top, which are broad categories that you might find useful. Home, About Us, House Tour and Contact Us are all main categories of this blog. You could think of them as the main highways of this blogtown.

Other smaller, subcategories (think of them as the smaller roads), I've added to the sidebar on the left. The two newest ones are the Rooms in Progress section, which contains photos of the various In-Progress Rooms we are currently working on, and each room photo links to all the posts regarding the updates and projects of that particular room. So, if you were wondering what what've done to the Guest Bedroom for instance, all you'd have to do to find all the posts regarding that room is to just click on the photo of it. Pretty easy, huh?

However, I also thought that, should anyone wish to find a certain project we've done, it should be easy and simple to do so, rather than having to go each post one-by-one in each room (or maybe finding it via the House Tour page). So I created the Projects section over in the left sidebar. Here you will find all the projects, categorized by room, that we've tackled throughout our house. You will also find all the Ongoing Projects we are working on. Everything is now much easier to find and navigate through, thanks to that handy new section.

We have some big plans this weekend, which mostly involve getting alot further along on our Kitchen Countertop Project, but we also hope to add a few more links to that little Project section over there (more on those projects later!). And we're not the only ones who will be working this weekend. Nick and Cindy over at The Flipping Couple are going to be busy bees this weekend, too, working on their bathroom. It seems Spring Home Improvement Fever is catching right now in Blogland.

Our adventure with asbestos tiles during our Basement Remodel.

How about you? Are there any new projects you're planning to tackle this Spring or even this weekend? Has the warmer weather and sunshine got you itching to freshen things up, inside or out? Or will you just be taking it easy this weekend (or Spring!), possibly lounging in your hammock with a good book and enjoying the beautiful weather? We'd love to know!

Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 2 "Demo Time!"

Have I ever mentioned how much we like slammin' a huge sledgehammer around? And by "around" I mean, directly into components of our house? Oh yes, we love our sledgehammer. And our crowbar. Those two things go together like carrots and peas and they make demo-ing anything that's not up-to-scratch quite fun indeed.

See Tom's huge smile as we ripped out our kitchen soffits?


On a Friday night at midnight, no less? Please tell me we're not the only ones who have Date Nights like these.

Ah-hem. Back onto the topic of kitchen countertop demolition.

Let me do a quick refresh of what our kitchen currently looked like prior to our fun smashin' bash on it:


Before we actually began the fun stuff - aka, the smashin' demo, we did a little prep work. We took everything off the countertops, out of the floor/bottom cabinets, took out all the kitchen drawers (we only had 4 of them, so that was pretty easy!), and invested in some serious paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils. We also invested in easy things to eat during construction, that only require minimal use of countertops - microwaveable oatmeal, frozen dinners, sandwiches, etc. We set up a folding table to temporarily house all of our kitchen stuff we would need access to during the construction, and then we were ready to rock...er, smash!

First we moved the oven out of the kitchen and moved the fridge out away from the adjacent countertop.

Next we disconnected the plumbing for the sink (this was actually quite a pretty funny adventure, which we will share later with all the other little bumps in the road we encountered). First, we turned off the water valve. Then we turned the faucet on to make sure the water was actually off. Then we found the big pipe under the sink (that leads up to the basin) and disconnected it with a wrench (well, actually, for us it was already disconnected... as I said, we will dish on that adventure later!).

Next, we attempted to unfasten the sink by loosening the bolts on the underside of it. Hint: the keyword there was attempted. The bolts on the underside of the sink were completed rusted through. We really weren't surprised at all. This was not the first, nor will it be the last, surprise we have found while remodeling our humble abode. The biggest surprise we've actually found was a hidden shower in the guest bathroom. Um, yeah.

Back to the rusty sink removal problem. This required some thinking. The sink was cast iron, so it weighed a ton, and was completely and securely screwed into the countertop at about 10 different spots. Difficult removal? Oh yes, it was surely going to be. But we were not about to let this sink get us down before we had even started! Oh no, we were going to show that sink what we're made of!

So we grabbed the tools of our trade, our trusty sledgehammer and crowbar, and started tearing and banging, slicing and dicing (okay, so maybe not much slicing!), ripping and shredding and giving that laminate around the sink everything we got. Then we realized, as the sink was wobbling and shaking, that if we ripped out the countertop around it, the 50 pound sink would fall directly onto the plumbing and pipes underneath. So we grabbed the first two things we thought of: a paint bucket and car jack, naturally. I mean, in any critical situation isn't that the first two things you reach for? (actually, our first idea was for me to hold up the sink so it wouldn't fall, but that sink was just too dang heavy for me - and it was too heavy for Tom, too! I swear, it would take a professional body builder to hold up that thing while we ripped out the countertop from around it!)

We turned the paint bucket upside down and grabbed the only car jack we could find, which was conveniently located inside of the spare tire in the trunk of my car. My '99 Buick is so fancy, even know-it-all car people get surprised (oh, the memories of a car mechanic argument). No, seriously, my Buick packs a v6 engine, sports a spoiler and runs on sports style wheels. Oh yeah, it's one bad Buick, baby. Since Buick was so nice as to include a car jack inside the spare tire, we turned the paint bucket upside down inside the cabinet, set the car jack on top of the bucket and raised it up to the sink so it was supporting the weight. Ahh, success.

Our celebration was short lived. Once we began ripping out the countertops and more of the sink's weight was put on the jack and plastic bucket, we started hearing creaking noises and noticed that white stress marks were appearing on the bucket. Uh oh. We immediately began a race against the clock, frantically ripping out the countertop with much more vigor, prying piece by piece out as we yelled encouragements to each other. I tell ya, the tension and suspense was so great during this part of the project that it could've been made into part of a movie. Or maybe it was just so suspenseful to us because we knew if the sink fell that the weight of it could bust one of the antique pipes below, releasing a great burst of water and flooding our newly-remodeled-with-our-own-sweat-and-blood-and-tears-kitchen. Oh yes, home improvement is always so exciting for us. Seriously.

Finally we had ripped away 3 sides of the countertop, so that the sink was only being held up by 1 side, and was still being (tentatively) supported by our jack-and-bucket contraption. This is where it gets really good. We knew that once the last side of the countertop was ripped away from the sink, the sink would fall off the jack-and-bucket. But - we were out of any other crazy contraption ideas. So I geared up and whipped out my guns (aka, my retired-athlete-arms), "assumed the position" (crouching down by the cabinet, holding the sink up with my arms), and closed my eyes and prayed that the sink wouldn't fall. Which it did, of course, as soon as Tom had ripped and hammered away that last piece of countertop. Lots of screaming and yelling ensued as we both lifted this 60 pound or so sink out of the cabinet hole it had fallen into. Luck was finally with us as none of the plumbing under there broke, all was still dry and intact. Whew!

After hauling the nasty old sink out to the garage and finishing ripping out the old laminate countertops, it was time to clean up the mess we had made (who knew sawdust could get in every single corner and crack in that kitchen?) and admire our hard work.

After a few hours of sweat and tension (not to mention heavy lifting with that sink!) we were officially rid of our old sink, faucet and golden wheat-colored laminate countertops. Next up, it was time to begin the next step: installing the plywood base. And boy, was that a whole 'nother adventure! Stay tuned for our play-by-play as this granite tile countertop installation project does down.

Next Phase: Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 3 "Base Operations"

Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 1 "The Plan"

As soon as we arrived home from our fabulous and fun getaway to Las Vegas, we were itchin' to begin our latest home improvement project for our kitchen remodel: new kitchen countertops. Our old laminate countertops were functional but lacking: cuts, scrapes, sagging and outdatedness prompted us to get our butts in gear to replace those babies. But first off, we needed to research, shop and buy the materials, and plan the whole big she-bang.

The Process and Gathering Materials:

Replace or resurface?

This was our first question that we needed to answer. Were our old countertops in decent enough condition that we could resurface with a new material, be it laminate or tile? Our answer: no. Our countertops were structurally in bad condition. Not to mention that we added an extra cabinet to one end of our kitchen, so we were completely missing a whole section of countertop there. So we decided that we needed to take the plunge and completely replace all of our countertops.

What kind of new countertop?

This was the BIG question for us. We needed to evaluate our budget, time constraints, installation costs, material costs, neighborhood, home value and just plain' ole' personal preference on this one. We got estimates, looked at all sorts of different countertop materials and colors, and put alot of thought into our choice.

Our first choice was laminate - we gave the counter-man our dimensions, picked out a few colors from the samples, and got a quote. We decided we could save the money and do the install ourselves. Still, choosing this option would cost us around 300 big ones, and that's the cheapest option we had. We would've loved to go with another option, but granite or another solid-surface type of countertop was just out of the question as far as our budget would allow.

So we settled on a new laminate countertop as we headed off to look at backsplash tiles and get an idea for our kitchen there on colors, cost, etc. It was then that we saw them - beautiful, gorgeous granite tiles. Hello, beautiful! A wonderful thought popped into our heads: we had another option! So we grabbed a scrap of paper and started doing some quick cost calculations (okay, so it was mostly Tom doing the math), and after figuring the cost per tile to span the square footage of our countertops, not to mention proper tools and supplies like grout and sealant, we realized that granite tiles were a valid option for us. And yes, we totally did the happy dance right there in the middle of Lowe's, in the tile aisle! We figured that, as far as supplies and materials went, a granite tile countertop would cost us about the same amount as a new laminate one would, giving us all the pluses of having a granite countertop with only a laminate budget. Sweet!

What color?

There were endless colors of the beautiful natural stone to be found in the store, not to mention many more that could be found at specialty tile stores, as well. But we found ourselves in love with the simple neutral color black. Plus, it definitely helped that the tiles were on sale when we bought them. Score.

We also picked up some black unsanded grout (so it won't scratch the delicate stone), to let the grout lines blend with the tiles, giving the illusion of a single stone slab. In addition to the tiles and grout themselves, we also picked up some plywood for the countertop base, some tile cement backerboard, some mastic/adhesive to adhere the cement backerboard to the plywood, and some granite tile thinset mortar and stone sealer (we already had sponges, buckets, trowels, and a tile cutter at home).

Do we need a new sink and faucet?

Our current sink and faucet functioned pretty well, but the cast iron sink was a off-white creamy color, and the old faucet was showing it's age. With all of our upgrades and new stainless steel appliances, not to mention the new granite countertop we were planning on installing, it seemed like an ideal time to upgrade those parts of our kitchen, too.

After perusing all the different types of sinks, taking into account different brands, sizes, types, and gauges, we settled on this single-basin standard size beauty:

(this photo is not the actual sink we bought, but a similar one to it)

We loved the look and functionality of a single basin sink, but didn't want to sacrifice sink size. So when we spotted this baby, we knew we had found a winner. Score.

Next up was the faucet. While the store employee tried to dazzle us with those high tech faucet gadgets, with touch technology and diamond bonds and magnetic heads, the price just didn't sit well within our budget. Spending 400$ on a fancy faucet was a bit much for us. We wanted something simpler, with clean lines and an even smaller price tag. Then we spied this baby, which was also on sale for a little over 100$ (sweet!):

We love the clean, polished look and lines of it, and the pull-down sprayer was a huge plus for us. So we snabbed our new snazzy kitchen jewelry and headed home with, essentially, everything we need for our new countertop.

The Plan:

Now that we had everything we needed for our next big project, we needed a plan. The plan is as follows:

1) Rip out old countertops
2) Check to make sure cabinet tops are level
3) Install plywood to cabinet tops
4) Cut sink opening
5) Install cement backerboard, cut sink opening
6) Lay tiles using thinset mortar
7) Polish tile edges
8) Seal tiles
9) Grout tiles
10) Seal tiles again
11) Install new sink and faucet
12) Enjoy our new countertops!

We are praying that everything works out well, and that we don't run into many snags (although we've already run into a few already! More on that later). So stay tuned because we will be dishing on the entire process, even including our mistakes and snags, and what we would've done differently if we ever do it again.

Next Phase: Kitchen Countertop Project - Part 2 "Demo Time!"

Where in the world are the Magruders?

Or rather, where were we?

View of the strip from our hotel room

Vegas, baby! Oh yes, we decided to kick-start Tom's Spring Break with a little vacation to a tiny oasis in the middle of the desert. We spent a few days there with some great friends and had a fabulous time. It was pretty much a first-time trip for the both of us - me going as a kid doesn't really count, as I don't remember such things as the girlie trading cards littering the ground. Hmm, I think "girlie" is too tame a word to use for those...

So we partied, we relaxed, we gambled, we had a fantastic time. We saw two shows, and ohmygosh - they were spectacular! We saw the Cirque du Soleil Mystere show and then we saw Le Reve. Both were incredible - they were indescribable.

The stage for Le Reve, 360 degree seating with a 27 ft. pool of water

We stayed at the Wynn, one of the newer hotels on the strip. I tell ya, I loved everything about our room - 51st floor with a view of the entire strip, high ceilings, huge windows with electronic curtains, recessed can lights, art prints, marble-tiled bathroom complete with flat screen TV and double sinks with a glass shower and vanity. Incredible. Almost makes me want to buy a condo in Vegas. Almost.

The entrance/lobby area inside our hotel

There were the most beautiful mosaic floor tiles

The casino at the Wynn

Our hotel bathroom = my dream bathroom!

The sunset over Vegas, as viewed from our hotel room

We even met a couple minor celebs - like the man who wrote Full House and his wife, who has played some small rolls in shows such as ER.

The fountain show at the Bellagio

We soaked up the sun by the pool - and enjoyed the best pina coladas I've ever had.

It was a wonderful vacation, although now I feel like we need to take another vacation just to recover from this one! Anyone up for a trip to Florida?

And while the room we stayed in was beautiful, and I loved using the bathroom vanity to style my hair and do my makeup like a normal person for once (our bathroom at home is too tiny - I do my hair and makeup in our small bedroom instead), as Dorothy puts it - "There's no place like home." Sure enough, we are glad to be back -

- and are already busy planning/beginning our next project: granite tiled kitchen countertops. In fact, we've already disconnected our sink and spilled water everywhere. Big oops! Perhaps I should make a future post about what not to do when beginning a tiled kitchen countertop project! I'll be dishing more on our mistakes, obstacles and triumphs later, when the project is (hopefully) well under way. So be on the lookout for more updates of our current adventure soon!

Question and Answer

Carol wrote:

"love the kitchen reno so far!! Very inspiring.
Could you post some of your "favorite" or "most-helpful" online tutorials?? My husband and I both search online for home DIY help, but sometimes it seems like the amount of info out there is intimidating!! Any sites that are tried and true for you would help! Thanks"

 Thanks for your kind words, Carol! We completely understand when you say the amount of info and tutorials out there in cyberspace is intimidating. Often, before we jump into a new project, we find several tutorials online that will flat-out contradict each other on how to do something, which is extremely frustrating and confusing. So yes, we totally understand.

 
That being said, for each project we tackle we usually use steps/information from several different tutorials/sources, depending on the project and our particular situation/need/materials. Typically, a "research session" for us involves Googling the project, reading a few tutorials and watching a few videos (we're pretty visual people, and sometimes it just doesn't "click" unless we can see someone else doing it!). Then, once we're pretty sure we have a decent idea of what we're going to be doing, we head off to Lowe's or Home Depot with our list of supplies and any questions we have about the project we're about to tackle. Most of the employees have been incredibly helpful and knowledgable, and have answered any questions/doubts we've had. Then we head home with our supplies and get to work on our latest and greatest DIY home improvement adventure!
 
Here's a list of some of our favorite resource websites for our DIY home improvement needs:

• Lowe's or Home Depot - They have an extensive collection of tutorials, but our favorite is the free videos, which show you step-by-step how to do any range of home improvement projects. We've used them for a wide range of our projects, from installing new attic insulation to a new storm door.
• Young House Love - They've tackled everything from refinishing furniture to getting dents out of carpet, and offer free tutorials for each one. They make home improvement fun and oh-so-not intimidating. I used their tutorial exclusively to paint our kitchen cabinets, because it was easy, simple and the results turned out great!
• This Old House - They also have a great collection of step-by-step tutorials, with helpful photographs to boot.
• DoItYourself - They too have a good collection of tutorials, with everything from washing machine troubleshooting and repair to crown molding installation.

We hope this gets you going in the right direction on your DIY home improvement quest! Of course this is only the tip of the iceburg, really, as there are so many other great sources and tutorials out there for any sort of home improvement or home repair a homeowner could possibly dream of (or inherit!). Does anyone else have any favorite or helpful DIY home improvement sites to share and help point Carol and her hubby in the right direction? I know there must be quite a few out there that we don't even know exist, and we'd  love to pick up a few tips and tricks from, too!

Kitchen Update

Okay, so as you know our kitchen is only partially done. As a recap, we've:

- Installed new flooring
- Installed new appliances
- Removed the soffits
- Drywalled
- Converted an electrical outlet to a light fixture
- Painted the walls and ceiling
- Painted the cabinets
- Installed a pendant light
- Installed over-the-range microwave

Are you more of a visual person? Then let me show you the before and after photos, for your visual pleasure.

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen Now:

A big change, right? That's a huge list with tons of projects we've tackled so far in this room, but there's still quite a few things left to do:

- Install molding across the tops of the cabinets
- Build a wine rack
- Build an open cabinet
- Install baseboards and quarter round
- Build new countertops
- Install new sink and faucet
- Install new backsplash

Whew! That's alot of projects to tackle in the near future, and no worries - we'll tell you all about our adventures, triumphs and mishaps along the way.

In the past we've noticed that we have a way of starting with the most difficult projects first (like our Basement Remodel, where we had an asbestos mishap), so it only goes to show that of course the first project we'll be tackling on our To-Do List is probably going to be the most difficult: the countertops. What can I say, I guess that's just our style.

So stay tuned, because we will begin Operation: Kitchen Countertop within the next couple of weeks (during Tom's Spring Break, no less!). We will be doing a granite tiled countertop (more on those details later), and while I've done a bit of tiling before, Tom never has, and neither of us has ever taken on something as big as creating and tiling our own granite countertops. Yup, we're pretty much complete amateurs when it comes to this, but we're pretty good at the whole learning-as-we-go thing (gotta love online tutorials).

Bring on the learning curve!

Sweet Surprise

Don't you love it when somebody does something unexpected? I sure do, especially when I'm not functioning at 100% capacity.

I've been sick all week so far with a nasty cold, which has pretty much put me in a constant state of sneezing, sniffling, nose dripping, throat hurting, coughing, feverish-ness. Not very pretty. Add to that working full time (unfortunately I don't have the luxury of having sick days at work, unless I want to use vacay time = no sick days for me, because I <3 vacations!). I feel like a walking, sneezing zombie (can you tell I'm reading a Stephen King book?).

Anyways, after work earlier this week Tom surprised me with a lovely get-well package. It was Nyquil and Dayquil, Breyers' Cookie Dough ice cream, and some pretty fresh flowers.

They fit in well with the rest of our Spring and Easter decorations, and did a wonderful job of cheering me up.

What a sweet surprise.

Our Baby

One year ago on February 14th, for our first Valentine's Day as newlyweds, we headed off to the local Humane Shelter to play with some puppies, and fell in love (who didn't see that one coming, eh?).

The next day, we brought home our then 10-month old furry son.

The shelter told us that he was an Australian Cattle Dog.

We're pretty positive that they were completely wrong.

After much research and almost a year of training, loving, discliplining, laughing, cuddling, and enjoying each other's company, we've come to believe that he is a Jack Rat Terrier; a mix between a Jack Russel Terrier and a Rat Terrier. 

Of course, we will never know if our best guess is correct, because he didn't come with any sort of pedigree or papers.

Not that it matters much to us, anyways.

He is the comedian of our family, always running around and constantly making us laugh. Whether it's chasing his tail, getting excited when the doorbell rings (or even the phone), attempting to consume anything and everything (yes, he has honestly eaten Tom's medical school homework - add that to the long list of things he's eaten: carpet padding, tile grout, drywall, sawdust, clothing, socks...), we love him to death, and now could never imagine our lives without him.

He is our baby. And yes, we do tuck him in at night.

Is there a furry member of your family? Do you spoil them and pamper them as much as we do ours? Surely we aren't the only ones who do things like tuck our pets in at night!... or are we?