Mickey Unmaking My Bed

There are so many things a woman has to do through out the day. So much to do and so little time. Now we don't have children yet so I don't know what it is like to clean a room only to come back and find it messy again, but Mickey wanted to help prepare me for this. Now the bed had been made and my dad and I were working on installing a new vanity that Mr.G and I had bought the day before for only $100 at Lowes. So in the video you can hear my dad in the background talking about plumbing and Mickey is in his own lil world trying to make himself comfortable. I found it absolutely adorable. If our kids are going to be this cute when they mess up our house then I am going to be cleaning a lot or have a very messy house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yfHy-wdXwM

Now, it might be my bias opinion, but Mickey's face at the end is priceless. The face of being caught. The face that knows he is adorable and that he is not going to get into trouble for what he did.
I really need to get some kids because I am becoming way to attached to these dogs.

Pesky Lizard

Hi, I am Mickey and I am the oldest of the two boys of Mr. & Mrs. G. Now I know most you believe that a dogs life is nothing but fun and games. That we get to sleep all day and we have no major responsibilities. Well, I am here to tell you that life as a dog is much more complicated than you know. First of all, we are still trying to tell humans that the food they are giving us taste like garbage and trying a new recipe would be nice. I just read the other day in the Dogs Digest that it actually prolongs a dogs life if you give them food from the table often. In fact, your dog might live forever if you make them pancakes for breakfast everyday. But life isn't all about food, we have our share of work too. For example, every morning I have to be alert for when Mr. G wakes up so that he doesn't step on me. He has been known to be a bit out of it in the morning. And then I have this little brother named Marley who just showed up about a month ago. He can really get into trouble, and even though I sometimes don't stop him because I feel he deserves a good spanking every now and again, I spend most of the day keeping him out of trouble. And then there is that pesky lizard. He is out to get me I tell you. This morning was no different.I was out minding my own business when that pesky lizard pops up out from underneath me and starts running a long the side of the house. I chased him all along the house and then that pesky lizard hid from me and I couldn't find him anywhere. I knew he had to be around there somewhere so I decided to use my nose to seek him out. Unfortunately, God didn't bless me with the longest nose in the world, and it has been a bit of a handicap through out my life. But I looked and I sniffed for that pesky lizard.

Why is my mom yelling for me right now. Doesn't she know that I am on a mission. I have a pesky lizard to catch. Now, I don't really know what I will do with that pesky lizard when I catch him, but I will worry about that later. Now, mom, please stop yelling for me so I can get back to work. Thank you.

Mmmmm...I think I smell him behind this weird white thing. This is when a bigger nose would come in handy because I can't fit my face back there to get him.

There he goes along the side of the house again. Marley, would you leave me alone PLEASE. You don't even know what we are looking for. MOM, PLEASE TELL MARLEY TO LEAVE ME ALONE.

Aw...he went under the deck. Well, you pesky lizard, this is not the end. I will be back and I will catch you. You were lucky that Marley got in my way because otherwise you would have been dead meat. Until next time....

Renovation Surprises

Some say that it is easier to build a house than to renovate because when you renovate you have to live in the mess. Mr. G and I have been living in the mess for about 2 months now and we must admit it is starting to get a bit old. However, we know that each day we are closer to a new home and it is very exciting. We have been working on many things since the last time I blogged about our renovation so there are lots of pictures to keep you up to date.
We had a combination of laminate and carpet through out the house. We decided to go with all new floors since the carpet had been stained by the previous owners dog and also our two dogs. We liked the laminate but there wasn't enough of it and it would be impossible to find the exact match to do the whole house in. Instead we opted to put Vertigo, a new type of flooring that is not wood and is not laminate but looks like real hardwood, through out the house with the exception of the bathrooms and the bedrooms. We are putting new carpet in the bedrooms and leaving the bathrooms as is.

Here is my dad taking up the laminate in our entry way. We were blessed that our laminate came up easily and we will be able to sale it at our upcoming rummage sale. Anytime we are presented with a pleasant surprise we get pretty excited because most of the time our surprises have been time consuming and expensive.

It easily snapped out of place. It was a dream....unfortunately, we didn't have the best of luck with the other floors.

Here we took up the carpet in the dining room and it wasn't too bad. Apparently, the people who laid the carpet felt like a million staples and nails were needed, but we were able to get it all up by the end of the day.

The next day we took up the carpet in the living room and we were surprised to find that there had been some water stains. Our first thought is that our particle board is damaged and that we are going to have to replace it.

You can see some more of the water damage by our fireplace. The floor was so dark at places that it actually had looked like the floor had been on fire at some point in the past. Fortunately, the particle board is actually perfectly solid. It is not loose or soft anywhere so we don't have to worry about replacing it. Praise God.

And on to more surprises. We took the laminate up easily in the kitchen only to find that there were not one, but two more floors underneath it. Isn't that a beautiful yellow linoleum. Unfortunately, it doesn't really go with our style of decorating.

We knew that it would be difficult to pull up the two floors but we had no idea that it would be this difficult. The top lay of linoleum laid on top of a board that had nails placed every 6 inches. We called many people asking for advice on how to get this floor up and the last guy we called said it best. "Blood, sweat, and tears." We started hitting the floor as hard as we could with this scrapper. This actually would cause the nails to bend over far enough so that we could lift pieces of the floor up. Then we would have to go back and pull up all the bent over nails so that our scrapper wouldn't get snagged on it and rip off our shoulder. It took us an entire day to get that first layer off and it was miserable. My poor Dad did most of the work and he has a wonderful blister on his hand to prove it.

And once again that lovely brown does not match our decor....bummer.

I helped some but I wasn't near as good at whacking the floor like dad was.

Then came the toughest road block of all. This bottom layer had been glued on and no matter how hard we whacked it, it only came off in small pieces. Mr. G told dad and I that since we did the top two layers he would do the bottom layer, but it is a hard and tedious job. And unfortunately, he isn't done with it yet. He has been working on it for days and we are maybe 2/3 of the way done. Poor guy.

The next day dad and I tackled the big window in our living room. We are changing the wood work in our house to white so we needed to paint the front window to match. It took an entire day but it was actually pretty fun. I put on my DVD of Gilmore Girls and dad and I painted to the sound of Lorelei and Rory's random pop culture references and fast talking. It was wonderful.

More painting and it looks like you can see Rory on our smile tv to my right. Oh, and it also appears to be another beautiful summer day outside.

There is still much to be done and not a lot of time before school starts. The count down on the gas station before you enter our village says 24 days till school starts. However, it has said 24 days till schools starts for 5 days, so I am not for sure what that means. At least they spelled school right this time.

Poor Poor Marley

It was a decision that all moms hate to make. They never want to see their lil ones in pain and I was no different. I knew it had to be done but I was worried at how Marley would handle it.No...he's not dead...he's been fixed. And as you can see in the picture, he is handling the drugs very well.

This is the cute face that has been looking up at me all day. I know it is adorable but it is also breaking my heart because with his sweet face comes his little whimper reminding me of how much pain he is in. I can't hardly take it. I truly think I heard him today say, "Why did you do this to me, Mom?"Just like anyone who has been through a major surgery, Marley has taken to his bed most of the day. I take him out to go to the bathroom, but all he really wants to do is lay down. So, when we went for our nightly walk, Mr. G walked Micky and I carried Marley in my arms. I would do anything to make this little boy feel better.

And now, while I am writing this blog he is laying right by my side trying really hard to keep his eyes open.
It is taking everything he's got.

His head keeps dropping lower...and lower..

and lower.

Poor guy!

He eventually gives in. Sweet dreams my sweet Marley. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. And don't worry, I will give you more drugs in the morning.

Driving Home

What makes an 18 hour drive worse?.....Rain. And not just a light drizzle...I am talking cats and dogs here. While driving back home we encountered a down pour. It only lasted about an hour or so, but it was heavy and it was a bit scary. Cars were pulling over along the side of the road. Everyone had their emergency flashers on. We weren't going much over 30 the entire time, but unlike everyone else, I wasn't worried. I had Mr. G behind the wheel and I knew everything would be ok.

Eyes on the road and the perfect 10-&-2 positioning of the hands. He had everything under control. You can see just how intense the situation is by the expression on Mr. G's face. Luckily, we made it through the storm and were excited to see what was on the other side.

Off in the distance you can see the red, yellow, and blue lines that make up a faint rainbow. I still find rainbows amazing and fascinating because they are a wonderful reminder that God is still with us. No matter what storms we may pass through, no matter what heartache we face in this world, God is always there. Even a promise that he made to Noah thousands of years ago still stands strong today.

Our vacation is officially over and we are back home. With all the time I had to think during our trip and our two 18 hour drives, I have been reminded to slow down and enjoy life. Be thankful for everything I have and stop thinking about tomorrow. Everyday is special and everyday is a chance to let my light shine for God. That is a wonderful reason to be excited to get up every morning. So even though our trip is over I am revived with a new excitement for the Lord.

Storms will inevitably come but I live believing there will always be a rainbow on the other side.

Last Night in Naples...2:30am

The last night in Naples what we needed more than anything was rest. We knew that we had an 18 hour drive ahead of us the next day and rest the night before would help us be more awake and alert while we drive. We made sure that we went to bed early and we planned on sleeping in that next morning. What we had not planned on was this unexpected wake up call at 2:30 in the morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC6kfFQB9o0

We were both in bed when the siren went off but neither of us moved until the man's voice loudly stated "This is an emergency. Please make your way down the stairs to your assigned front gate. This is an emergency."
There were no words spoken from either of us as we climbed out of bed, slipped on our sandals, and walked down the stairs to what we guessed was our assigned gate. It was as if we had done this a million times and it was not worth talking about. A few minutes later we started talking about the situation. First of all the sirens were still going off, people were coming out of the condo from all corners, and no firetrucks were anywhere around.
At this point I started noticing something. Rich people wear weird things to bed. I watched as men came down in freshly pressed khaki pants and a nice polo. I saw a women come down with her dog which had on its superman pajamas. The real kicker was the woman who came down in her spandex biker shorts and long sleeve spandex workout shirt. I figure this meant one of three things...1.)She dresses the night before for her workouts the next morning 2.)It was the closest thing to her bed so she just threw it on 3.) Or she sleeps in tight fitting clothes to help her keep her tight toned body. I don't know which one it was, but it was a site to see. Looking back on it now I realize that people were probably thinking some weird thoughts about me too. I was definitely the only one in sweat pants and a sweat shirt. Just because its Naples doesn't mean it doesn't sometimes get cold.
Finally, the fireman came and we all were sent back to our rooms after we were told it was a false alarm. What an eventful evening.

Naples Condo

As we turned to leave the condo we thought it would be best to take pictures of the place for memories sake and so our family and friends can see where we have been for the last week. So, I will give you the grand tour.Opening the big door to the condo you see a short hallway that turns to the left and to the right. If you go to the left you will see this formal sitting room. We never actually sat in there because we aren't very formal people. But it did look pretty.

Down the hallway off of the formal sitting room is two bedrooms. So we will call this bedroom #1 and....

...This is bedroom #2.

This is the bathroom that sits right next to bedrooms 1 & 2. I did actually use this bathroom once...just cuz I could. There was also a 1/2 bath near the formal sitting room but it was really hard trying to take its picture because it was so small. So I skipped it, but you can imagine what it might look like.

Here was our luxurious kitchen. I am just now noticing the dishwasher that would've been handy after our morning pancakes. Oh well...Mr. G and I enjoyed washing the dishes together anyway. I wash...he dries...it is a wonderful and actually romantic system.

Here is our living room and there is a dining room table just to the left of this picture. We spent lots of time on the couch watching t.v., blogging, or reading in the evenings. It was nice because for the last month our house back in Illinois has been under renovation so having a finished living room felt really nice.

Here is the master bedroom. We didn't do the best job making the bed but there is a maid coming in later so I am sure she can fix our messy covers.

Here is the master bath. There is also a very large shower to the right but I couldn't get that in the shot. I also left out the toilet because everyone knows what a toilet looks like. But the toilet did have a room to itself which is nice at times.

This is our large walk in closet. Well, it probably isn't large but it is much bigger than Mr. G and I are used to. It felt like a whole other room.

This is the screened in back porch that walks out onto our deck that over looks the bay. We used this area to hang our wet swimming suits and towels over night to dry. It worked out pretty well.

This is the same screened in porch and deck but looking the other direction. If you were to turn the corner in the screened in porch you will find a door that leads to the master bedroom.

And this shot was taken from where the screened in porch is. It looks back to the living room dining room and through the kitchen.

This was our home for the last week and we were both a little sad to see it go. But it is time to head back home. We got word that our house is being painted today so that gives us motivation for the long journey ahead of us. We can't wait to be home.

Naples Day 4

We had a very interesting start to our morning today. I woke up around 6:45 and made it out to the beach by 7:00 to start walking. Around 7:50 I noticed something popping up in the water that kinda looked like a shark and it wasn't until I got closer that I saw it was a dolphin. This dolphin was so close that it was probably only 10-15 yards out in the water. At first I thought the dolphin was only going to stay for a minute but after 10 minutes I realized that I should call Mr. G so he could see the dolphin too. He had been asleep when I left but I was hoping he was up by now. He absolutely loves dolphins. Unfortunately, he didn't answer when I called but about 10 minutes later he called me back. I quickly told him the situation, that there is a dolphin about 10 yards out and I have been with it for about 20 minutes now. I told him to get down here quick so that he can see it and to bring the camera.
It was about 5 minutes later and he called me back already on the beach and he asked me which direction I was. I told him to go towards the right and to run. About 10 minutes passed and there is still no Mr. G anywhere around. He calls me and asks where I am. I told him that apparently he is a really slow runner because it shouldn't be this hard to find me. So we hang up and he runs some more. About 5 minutes later I get another call and he sounds a little more frustrated this time. At this point we realize that Mr. G was about a mile or two passed where I was. Somehow he got so excited that he ran right passed me and the dolphin. By the time he walked back to where I was he was completely drenched from sweat and not smiling at all. I show him the dolphin but he is not that impressed anymore. I try to snap a few pictures but I didn't do the best job.Here is my dolphin friend a little father out than he usual. At one point this morning I actually could see 3 dolphins in the water. It was beautiful. I talked to some people who live in Naples and they said that there is a row of fish that like to swim in the mornings about 10-15 yards out and that this dolphin is probably enjoying some breakfast.

Here you can see his body in the corner. It was a wonderful thing to see. I probably spent 30 minutes with this dolphin and I felt sad leaving him but I had a tired husband to tend to.

Mr. G got his energy back once we hit the pool. If you are wondering this is a hand stand. I am sure that it takes a lot of strength to be able to keep your legs that distance apart in the air. He is very talented.

"How was my hand stand, honey?"

We weren't able to stay in the water for very long because a storm came up on us quick. This is the view of the storm from our back deck.

Bye Bye blue skies.

Mr. G watching the storm clouds roll in and smirking because he knows I am taking a picture of him.

Mmmmm.....What are you thinking, Mr. G?

It is nice because every night is date night on vacation. Here we are at the Regatta before our night on the town. Nobody needs to know that we made it back to our condo by 7:30.

Here we are in downtown Naples. It was a beautiful area with a lot of neat expensive shops and restaurants. After checking out all the restaurants and asking to see their menu (We didn't want another walk of shame like Andre's) we made our decision for McAbe's Irish Grill and Pub. It was really good food and a neat atmosphere. Plus, Mr. G had a t.v. to watch his sports on.

Then we found someone to take our picture and it only cost us $28. He was a good salesman.

I told you the downtown area was beautiful. It was like this up and down both sides of 5th avenue.

This is one of the many mansions we saw leaving downtown. They must be having money coming out of their wazuu.

Don't you think Mr. G looks adorable with his purse. He is embarrassed that I am putting this on the blog, but it is important to accessorize, honey.

Well, tonight is our last night in Naples and even though we are sad to go, we are both ready to be home. Our home renovation has continued while we have been gone so we are excited to see the progress. Supposedly, the entire house will be painted tomorrow. All that stands in the way is the 18 hour trip ahead of us. Yippidy do da. Prayers will be appreciated and much needed.

It has been a wonderful vacation but the best part has been spending it with my darling husband. It felt like our second honeymoon and I loved every minute of it. He is my best friend and I can't imagine my life without this wonderful man. I know that God made him just for me and I look forward to walking forever holding his hand. I love you Mr. G.