2 Months!

It is hard to believe that a year has passed since Kory and I got engaged... which means there are only 2 short months until that proposal comes to fruition!  I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed... and how easily distracted we have been related to the focus on planning our wedding.  From moving, school/work, and our first house, we have had very little spare time to stress about the wedding... which I hear is very unusual.  I suppose most couples take more of a "one challenge at a time" approach while Kory and I seem to have chosen to do it all at once... which may be a blessing in disguise. :)

Our Comic Relief & Her Red Bone

Sam is lucky that we find her undeniably, heart meltingly adorable because she is a terror that I'm certain most people would get fed up with or give up on.  It's not enough that she chews holes in our socks and scares away our visitors (both welcome and unwelcome), we end up with black eyelash looking hair all over every surface and she leaves slime marks on our clothes that must make people wonder if we own a washing machine!  Thank goodness we have a heart for animals and a sense of humor to go along with it - otherwise our "baby" would have likely found herself at an animal shelter instead of in our bed, stretched out to the max.

We have discovered one thing that keeps our little devil occupied and out of trouble - her red Kong bone.  Made of truly indestructible rubber, we are able to stuff it full of the most delectable scented treats and leave her with the challenge of how to get those treats from within the tight rubber holes.  All I can say is, Thank God for Kong!  We never could have guessed that the $15 we invested in that dog toy would be the best $15 we would ever spend. 

When she's finally maneuvered the treat out of the bone, she will cover it with slime and offer one of us an end in order to play tug.   Because we love her, and we find her persistence so darn cute, we humor her... even Grammy Marilyn has been known to give in to those dreamy puppy eyes and take hold of the slimy red bone for a good game of tug-o'-war!

Recently, I spent a couple of days working from home.  One day Sam was particularly energized while I was trying to do my job at my laptop.  Instead of stuffing the bone with a goodie and sending her off with something to do, I just shooed her away and continued what I was doing.  When I got up to grab a snack, this is what I came back to... 

...maybe a reminder of where Sam thinks my priorities should lie? Or maybe a very direct request for a little something special in the empty toy...

In the end, she got a turkey stuffed bone and I got a much needed laugh. Sometimes I think she might be a little smarter than we realize.  Dumb or brilliant, she certainly adds an invaluable comic spice to our lives!

World's most durable dog toys... KONG WEBSITE

If you know a dog owner with an unruly pup... send them the link,

you'll help them preserve their sanity and their possessions!

Project Update

Remember, this is where the wall was when "we" started:

And this is where we are today, after many long hours of hard work and a few early discoveries that will end up saving up big bucks!

This photo shows you the specific addition that was made to support the dining room / living room ceiling, which had been dangling since the previous own ignorantly removed too much of the wall.

This was never meant to be a blog with an underlying HGTV theme, but I am just so proud of the work Kory and my dad have done, and SO thankful for their able hands and awesome attitudes! :)    Of course, there is still lots of work to be done to complete this mini renovation... mudding, sanding, painting, etc.  But frankly, at this phase in the game, I'm just happy to have a structurally sound roof over my head! 

Best Men

We had a mini reunion this weekend with Kory's two "bestmen" and their lovely ladies.  Kory and Jay (right) have been friends since they were just tots, literally!  They've been together through every walk of life - all the way up through college, both majoring in Aerospace Engineering. 

Jay and Kory met Jimmy (left) during their first year at Penn State.   Jimmy (affectionately aka "Slim"), Kory, and Jay have the perfect chemistry.  Something tells me this trio is going to be great friends for a very long time!

Photo:  Kory gave Slim and Jay their wedding accessory - a neck tie.  They clearly couldn't wait to put them on! :)

Lucky for me, Kory's best friends share their lives with amazing gals.  Erin (right) is Slim's girlfriend, whom we all met for the first time today!  As we expected, she was a great fit - layed back and fun! :)  And of course Jen (left) is one of my dearest friends.  She is one of those amazing people that make you feel like you can do anything.  Everyone needs a friend like Jen! :)

And then, of course we had to all squeeze onto our tiny couch for a quick group shot!   Thank goodness for cameras with timers! :)

Slim and Erin surprised us with a super sweet house warming gift, for me:  an amazing piece of pottery and a darling bouquet of flowers.  For Kory: a basket of goodies, including Honey Oh's... a cereal that they apparently ate a lot of during their years together in college! :)   What wonderful reminders they left behind... :)

1 Year Ago - Everything Changed

This week turned out to be one of the worst work weeks I've ever had.  I was beyond stressed and dying to just get home - and leave all the troublemakers and concerns behind me.  Thank God I had my mini support squad waiting for me in our new home, with open arms!  Never have I been more thankful that Kory is such a compassionate and patient fella'... it is turning out to be a frequent requirement for this role of future husband! 

Tomorrow marks our 1 year engagement anniversary.... it's hard to believe it's been that long.  Seems like yesterday I was sitting at the spa, getting spoiled... all building up to THE moment that would change our lives forever!   (The Proposal)  A year ago today, I never would have imagined what the following day would hold.... and even more shocking is where the next year would take us!  Life is such an awesomely crazy adventure! 

67 days until we are finally Mr. & Mrs.!  (That relaxing cruise is sounding better and better...)

Kory's Second Lesson & Much Much More...

Kory and I started our weekend flat on the floor, literally.  Somehow the crowbar managed to make its way under the air mattress we had been sleeping on and cut a massive hole in our makeshift bed.  We woke up to find our "loyal" dog sleeping across the room on her well padded dog bed  while we were on an airless air mattress.  Some dog.  Luckily the timing worked - Kory was heading to Punxsy to get our things, which included our crazy comfortable mattress! What a relief!

The weekend was full of lots of hard work, family style.  We had my mom, dad, and little brother all down to help with some of our work load.  The main focus was creating a space for our acceptably sized refrigerator.  This process would include a bit of layout reconfiguration between our kitchen and living room.  The plan was basically to shift the dividing wall back several feet and add an adjacent wall - think closet type refrigerator enclosure.  While Kory headed to Punxsy to get all of our belongings, my dad did the demolition.

This is the wall before my dad and Kory got started...

And after the demolition and they reframed the refrigerator closet, this is what we have after day 1 - two hopeful men...  stay tuned for the undisclosed surprise that was discovered during this home renovation. 

 

Meanwhile, my hardworkin' little brother, Mikey, was in the basement painting all of our interior doors...

...And my decorator mom was trying to mount curtain rods to the impossibly thick plaster walls.

After my parents wrapped up their work for the day, Mikey and Kory headed out to the moving truck to attack the daunting task of moving all of our over-sized furniture into the house.  Waiting until late evening added an additional challenge - maneuvering in the dark.  Fortunately their catlike senses worked to their advantage and they managed to get everything inside, in one piece.  Thank goodness for strong, hard working guys... And thank goodness for not having to move again, for a very long long time!

Before moving to Denver, Kory purchased an irresistably comfortable recliner which was quickly taken over by Sam.  Because of the small size of the last place we rented, we were forced to put the recliner in storage.   When Sam found her long lost napping spot in the living room she seemed overcome with joy.  She sniffed, and sniffed and sniffed, confirming that her old faithful chair was back!  It was pretty sweet...  I think dogs remember more than the experts claim.  There was definitely a fond memory in the scent of that chair...

After a long day of work, my furry friends welcomed bedtime in what felt like the world's most comfortable bed... (notice, no room for anyone else)

The following day was full of surprises... terrible ones, as usual.
When my dad went into the attic to do some electrical wiring, he found an absolute mess.  He worked in the heat of our tiny attic for hours.  I can barely sit up straight in our attic, so you can imagine the challenge the tiny area would create for my 6'4'' father.  He kept saying, "The guy who did this was a complete idiot!"  All I could think was, "Thank God my dad knows how to fix this stuff!"  I think I thanked him 20 times over the course of the afternoon.  My dad explained to us that the quality of the original work was phenomenal and that all of the problems he saw were related to what the last owner did...


While he was rewiring in the attic, he and Kory pulled back some of the insulation to reveal that the idiot that wired the kitchen also removed a portion of one of the walls that was load bearing.  They explained to me that the living room ceiling was just hanging.  There was nothing to support the ceiling!  Somehow this shocked me... but I was so relieved that they discovered this major structural flaw in time to correct it before it was a major issue.  They pointed out the hairline crack that was slowly revealing the issue that was lying beneath the surface of the drywall. They did the only thing they could and extended the wall out in order to support the living room ceiling.  The layout of the house is much less open, but at least we don't have to worry about the ceiling caving in!

Unfortunately, this took up most of the day and did not leave my dad enough time to teach Kory how to drywall... so we have a framed in box in our living room... for now.  In the coming days, we plan to contact the structural engineer that inspected our home before we purchased it, and gave no indication that there were any issues with the framing of the house.  
What else could possibly be concealed in this house?  I may not want to know the answer to that question!

Seller Deceit... Again!

Like many other things, we overlooked the obvious when it came to the absence of a refrigerator in our first home. Instead of wondering why the seller replaced all the other appliances except the refrigerator, we just assumed away any concerns...  and like all the other "red flags," this one came with a complicated solution.

The gap in the kitchen that was clearly for a refrigerator appeared to be plenty big for a standard refrigerator... which is obviously what the sellers wanted us to think.  Upon measuring the height and width of the hole, we found that only the smallest full size refrigerators would fit - these are the ones that Lowe's tells us are the right size for a family of 1.  With this frig, we would limit our condiments to ketchup and mustard, and certainly no left overs for us!

 In order to fit a larger refrigerator, we would have to replace many cabinets, which we have not yet found a match.  What do we do?  Get a tiny refrigerator?  If we ever decide to sell the house, there is no doubt that this "charming" remedy would surely be an issue!

Again, who saves the day? My dad.  He agreed to reconfigure one of the kitchen walls to allow for a bigger refrigerator - and use the original frig spot for a pantry!   That means that this weekend Kory is going to get his second lesson in "Mike Rosenberger's Handy Man School!"  : ) We were thrilled to get to look at full sized appliances at Lowes - instead of limiting ourselves to the mini aisle!

Meet the newest addition to our humble household... our lovely full sized refrigerator, to be delivered Friday and installed Saturday!  Isn't she a beauty?  : p

Lesson: Take nothing for granted!  If something looks or feels odd... investigate! 

Note:  The other items that may creep up as a cause for concern are the 12 Glade Plugins that we've removed from all over the house...  I'm guessing there is more to it than the cat pee/poop scent coming from the spare bedrooms - though we can hope that is all they were trying to mask!