Joe and Sydney

Telluride

2010-02-14T09:54:00.002-07:00

Joe and I traveled to Telluride, CO for the first time to celebrate an extend New Years Eve weekend. We loved it so much, we took another trip only a month later but this time enjoyed the experience with 6 friends. Telluride is a beautiful, small city nestled into the mountains. The whole experience felt like vacationing in a Snow Globe!

They Call me Mellow Yellow....

2009-10-11T18:01:00.005-07:00

I love yellow. It should come as no surprise then that it is by far my favorite color. Yellow, quite simply, makes me happy.

I saw this folding bookshelf at Cost Plus and it immediately caught my eye. I saw a bookshelf.... and it was yellow. I am happy to report I did not impulsively buy a bright yellow bookshelf. Instead, I went home, carried on with my day and talked to Joe about the bright yellow bookshelf the next day. To my surprise, he instantly said I should go out and purchase it. This was a surprise because we did not necessarily need a bookshelf and because it was yellow and Joe does not have the same love-love-love-love relationship with yellow that I do.

We are now the proud owners of the above yellow bookshelf. It was $49.99 at Cost Plus and I am extremely happy with it. Because of Joe's non-love relationship with yellow, we don't even have so much as a yellow wall in our house. But that is okay, because now I have a lovely yellow piece of furniture that I get to see every day as I go in and out of the house. This will guarantee I smile at least three more times a day.

P.S. Now that I've said and spelled yellow a million times- I've found that the word sounds weird and looks weird. I better stick to just looking at it :)

P.S.S. The painting above the yellow bookshelf is an oil portrait of the Dobermans by Joe. Love it!

Current Living

2009-10-11T17:28:00.004-07:00

I appreciate having a home that feels "lived in." From the furniture and decor to the four dogs we have running around the house all day -- our home truly fits us and it's designed to be functional for our behaviors, interests and attitudes. Decorating magazines, DIY television shows and home furnishing stores can easily turn any home into a depersonalized space. I can't even count how many homes I've been in that feel no different then any others because the homeowners put a decorating stamp, but not a personal stamp, on their home. I don't mean to criticize, but I hope that to others, our home feels like a warm space that screams "Joe and Sydney" as much as any place of ours can.

Here are some "Before and After" photos of our home when we first purchased it and the way it looks today (literally). Naturally, I cleaned up a bit before taking these photos. You're more likely to see dog toys strewn about the floor, toss pillows in no particular design on the couch, and miscellaneous odds and ends that haven't yet been put back in their designated place. But, other than that, these are photos of our main living areas as they are right now.

Year ones comes to a close

2009-10-11T13:32:00.002-07:00

Joe and I have now been homeowners for over one year!! I had completely forgotten it had been a full year until Joe brought it up a few days ago. This is the first time that neither one of us has had to pack and move to a new place in awhile! It feels wonderful to not only have a place to call home, but a place that we know will continue to be our home for the forseeable future. We have done a lot to our house since we first moved in, and I put together a few of the photos and a list of all our projects. In the next year or so we plan to knock out a lot of our large renovation projects i.e. renovating the master bathroom and kitchen, adding new stair railings and stone to the fireplace, and replacing all the windows and exterior doors.

1. Removal of all pre-existing landscaping to the front and back yards
2. Adding granite and new landscaping to the front yard
3. Painting all interior walls
4. Replacing all main living area lighting (foyer, dining, loft, living room)
5. Replacing sliding patio door with french doors (and painting them)
6. Replacing interior living room mini blinds with wood blinds
7. Removing and replacing all pre-existing carpeting
8. Adding laminate wood flooring in the loft
9. Renovating Guest Bathroom - replacing sink, paint color, flooring and hardware
10. Replacing front and backyard gates
11. Backyard renovation - paver patio, curbing, sod, side yard fire pit, granite around the curbing, adding palms and trees

There have been lots of smaller projects to spruce up things here and there as well. We were able to fill out a lot of our home with new furniture when Costco Home closed down and our new hobby, oil painting, is quickly filling up the walls with original art. We are very excited for our second year as homeowners and our upcoming fourth year as husband and wife!

Trees

2009-10-10T16:00:00.002-07:00

Back in August, we made a run to Moon Valley Nursery and came back with some trees and palms to plant in our backyard. We also added granite rock around the curbing and sideyard/firepit area. I just realized I never posted any photos but couldn't run outside and take some because we are in the process of transitioning to winter grass.

These photos were taken just after planting and before the granite rock went in. You can see a Queen Palm on the left and the right and a Navel Orange tree to the right of the gate.

One of the Queen Palms.

A Mexican Fan Palm. I love our flagstone stepping stones- you can see them peeking out in the picture below.

We planted a Tipu Tree between our garage and our house. I'll have to take another photo of it because it has grown a lot since we first moved it. It is a fast grower and will bloom yellow flowers in the spring.

And here is how Jake and Joe dug the holes for all of these lovely trees!

Reclaimed Space

2009-09-10T07:32:00.011-07:00

Let me preface this by reminding everyone who reads this that we have FOUR dogs. Our house is definitely not large enough for all of them, so we slowly tinker around with our set up trying to find a way to make living with them manageable for us and living with us manageable for them.

Lately, we have done quite a bit of tinkering. We set up a dog gate (extra tall) in our hallway to block access to the rest of the house. This gives us a nice, pen like space to put the Dobes when we don't want them to have free run of the house but we don't want to kennel them either. Look- it even has a small door small enough for just the pugs!

Then, we decided to reclaim the dog room as our own. We had used one of our extra bedrooms as a space to keep the dogs kenneled. However, we realized we could use the extra space and it was better to get used to having the dogs in the main living area since that is where they will ultimately need to be.

Where were we going to put the dogs? We ended up pushing our couch forward which solved two problems. First, it created the extra space we needed for Max's kennel (which is huge). Second, our living room rug now fits perfectly inbetween the couch and the entertainment console whereas previously there was a gap of tile.

So far, keeping the kennels in the main room of the house has worked for them and us. Joe recently found out that he is allergic to dogs and we have had to find ways to make living with FOUR dogs as undamaging to his health as possible. We have four air purifiers, an Animal Dyson and have also insisted upon a "No Dogs in any carpeted area" rule. More than anything, this rule has eased up on the allergens in the house because dust and fur are much easier to spot and clean on tile then on carpet where they linger in the fibers. An old, unused dog gate is now positioned on the stairs and keeps the dogs out of the loft as well.

So, how are the humans enjoying their new, extra space? Very much! We are using the extra bedroom as a studio and spend a lot of our down time painting. Eventually, this room will become the nursery but until then we are enjoying it for ourselves :)

Oils

2009-09-10T07:19:00.002-07:00

Here is some more artwork that Joe and I have been working on. We spend a great deal of our time painting and reclaimed the dogs room (more on that later) and transformed it into a studio room for us.

Joe's Gargoyle

My Tiger Lily (work in progress).

Joe's Rose. This is his first painting.

Joe's portrait of the Dobermans (work in progress). I think he is doing a wonderful job!!!

Hobbies

2009-09-07T07:55:00.003-07:00

It seems Joe and I are getting to that phase in life where we start developing new hobbies. Joe and I have most recently taken up oil painting. Our lovely friends George and Jeanine offered to let us come to their studio and give us a painting lesson. Since then, we've begun stocking up on supplies and spend quite a few days a week painting.

To do this, we cover our dining room table with a giant beach towel and set up our palettes, easels, canvas, medium, turpentine, brushes and oils. Then we're off!

Joe has been primarily painting roses and he has a work-in-progress Gargoyle. I have been sticking to landscapes and seem to end up with a beach scene no matter what I do. As our desire to paint has increased, so has our need for additional shelving to display our art work. We've already run out of room! Oil paints take time to dry- Mine take an espicially long time to dry since I tend to slather on the paint. This means that we have to find a place to display our finished artwork but also our works-in-progress while they dry.

Joe and I each have one finished painting. I have 3 pending paintings and Joe has 2. I'll post pictures as they start getting completed.

The painting above is one I finished last night. The only reason it was finished is because I did it in one sitting (as opposed to adding several layers). Joe has a beautiful rose painting which I need to take a photo of and then will post as well.

Pool

2009-08-11T07:10:00.003-07:00

The kids came right at the beginning of the nasty heat wave we had in July. I've been so grateful for the cooler temperatures over the last few days (and so have my plants!). The kids spent a lot of time at the pool and all three went home darker then when we got them. Even Alec, so affectionately known as the Great White Hope by Joe, became more of the Great Cream Hope, by time he left.

A Frisbee, courtesy of Rachael's Dave & Busters winnings, provided the entertainment.

We had to stock up on pool accessories. I had to stock up on oxygen after trying to blow them all up.

Alec = Great White Hope

Rachael is throwing the frisbee-- Look! Over Brooke's head!

Relaxing. Cooling off. Burning to a little red, sun baked crisp.

The beach ball, Brooke, myself, Rachael and the frisbee.

Park Day

2009-08-09T09:16:00.003-07:00

When the kids were here, we took the dogs to the park just down the street from our house. It ended up being too hot to let them play a lot, but Joe managed to get quite a few great pictures.

We were hot too -- I don't know why Alec, who burns the easiest, was sitting outside of the shade canopy.

Max and Sadie enjoying the shade too.

Look how big his tongue is!

Sadielicious
She blows kisses.. That puts them boys on rock, rock and they be linin down the block just to watch what she got!

My Dobes!

O-T-I-S. Number one, the original.

Sadie loves the grass. Laying it, rolling in it...

Oh, Baby Brady. He is adventerous enough to keep up with the Dobes, but he wears out quickly.

All four of my pups!! You'll notice Otis sat himself down right behind him, he is a Mommas boy for sure.

Just to show you how big Max is... bigger than me!!

Workin Outside

2009-07-30T07:20:00.004-07:00

I've got a lot of pictures and what the heck- I'll do two blogs in a day since I've been ultra-lazy in posting lately.

Sunday's are usually my gardening day. There is not a lot to do in the summers because most of my plants are not growing enough to need any sort of trimming and deadheading (removing the spent flowers)is not necessary since my plants are also not flowering. In addition, I have not been able to get out there the last two weeks because of the heat and the monsoons. Our poor front yard is quite a mess with a giant blanket of pine needles on the ground! I refused to rake the yard after the first big storm a couple weeks back knowing that I'd have to redo in a few days when the next one came. We even had hail during that big one!

Now "it's HOT" is my excuse. And it is!! This is my first summer doing any sort of gardening and all of my plants were planted in the spring. It is a struggle trying to make sure they survive the summer. An unintended consequence of wanting a great deal of diversity in plants is that they all need different levels of water but they are all on the same drip line. This weekend I need to sit down and find out how much water they each need and then change the emitters to match. Then, I need to figure out a better watering system so the plants that need water daily get it while the plants that don't... don't!

Anyways, Rachael was kind enough and enthusiastic enough to help me one morning while she was here. She helped me rake and bag the pine needles from the lawn and the garden areas. She also helped me spray my roses and hibiscus plants. These need weekly showers of water to knock off any pests like i.e. the spider mites that I thought killed my potted hibiscus. Every single leaf fell off of the bush-- I cut into the bark and verified that it was green, and so alive, and then transplanted it into the grown. It is now fully green again (though the monsoon tore a lot of the leaves) and doing great (so long as I can keep it alive through the heat!).

Much thanks to Rachael for helping me and keeping me company while I worked outside.

Summer Cousin's Visits

2009-07-30T07:11:00.003-07:00

My cousins from Oregon came up for a two week visit earlier in July. Every summer when I was a kid my sister, brother and I would spend our summers in Oregon. I was happy that my cousins got to have the chance to do the reverse and come visit us! Alec is 17, Brooke is 14 (15 soon!) and Rachael is 10. Here are some pictures of a night we spent at Dave and Busters. We combined all of our tickets and ended up with over 5,000. I'm still amazed that all the stuff Rachael got fit in her carry-on suit case!

Sadielicious

2009-07-08T06:44:00.005-07:00

In January, Joe and I decided to try and find a female Doberman whose ears were already cropped and who was approximately the same age as Max. We assumed this would be difficult because puppies are much easier to find then a full grown Doberman. We thought the ear crop hurdle would be difficult because it is a costly procedure and it's unlikely someone would spend that kind of money and the months it takes to post the ears, just to give the dog away.

But, within a week or two of searching (even less if I'm remembering right) Joe found Sadie. She was being raised by a Doberman breeder out north. Sadie's original owner actually had two female Doberman's and Max played with Sadie first. The crop was standard with her puppies and she had intended to keep Sadie to breed but decided not to.

Our goal in owning a second Doberman was to provide Max with a more appropriate playmate. Doberman's need a lot of exercise and attention and as Max grew it became abundantly clear that he needed a playmate that he could interact with on his giant, muscular level. The pugs were not that dog. Max was also fearful of other dogs and we thought that having a companion would help him socialize better.

Ultimately, we loved how he interacted with Sadie. She was very playful and had no fear or reservations about playing with a dog she didn't know. She was also on the small side for a female Doberman which suited us well given that Max is well and beyond the large end. We ended up taking Sadie home that evening.

You can see in this picture that Sadie's ears were already cropped. She was terrifed of the car on the way home, her original owner had said she had never been in one before (I guess that's farm life for ya). When we got home she jumped into Joe's arms and had her front paws around his neck and would not let go. But the minute he put her down in the grass she trotted around, found a toy and played.

Sadie is a beautiful girl. I wanted her spade because Max was not neutered and there was no way I was going to deal with a dog in heat and a maturing male. We got Sadie so they could interact and without her being spade and heat fast approaching we would have had to separate them.

Sadie was not allowed on the couch or bed at her original owners home. She was basically a farm dog and spent most of her time outside. Because of this she is very comfortable outside. Max, Otis and Brady will whine (Max espicially) to be let back inside when we let them out. Sadie will run around and enjoys plopping herself down on the grass to relax. We don't allow any of the dogs on the couch, but this does not apply to the bed. Most often all of the dogs will be on there with us. Sadie will claim whichever spot fits the following requirements: One, it is next to Joe. Two, it has lots of pillows. Here she is crashed on the bed, sprawled out across pillows. If she is laying like this and we leave the room, she will not move. The other dogs run out and follow us, Sadie is a happy camper just resting.

Her second requirement: Joe is nearby.

Sadie is not a fan of water. We cannot seem to teach her to swim. Her main issue is that she will not lift her butt up so she is parallel to the water. You can hold her up like that and the minute you let go she will let her butt drop. I just bought one of those blue, plastic play pools to keep outside. All the dogs should enjoy this since none of them can drown but they can all stay cool.

One of Sadie's ears dropped and we weren't able to get it to stand back up. We recently took her to the Vet and had a procedure called an ear floss done. I won't go into the specifics but it has been working and we are hopeful her ear will continue to stand.

We call Sadie "Sadielicious" alot :)

Sadie is definitely a Daddy's girl. She loves Joe and he dotes on her. She loves to rest her head on things-- pillows, furniture, people just to let you know she is there. Everyone who meets her comments on her calm and sweet demeanor. She is an instant favorite. I think she has one of those personalities that just draw people to her. One of my favorite things about Sadie is how good she is with the pugs. She is very much a Momma dog and enjoys laying with them and licking them to clean them. She espicially enjoys being around puppies and it is adorable watching her play with them.

Sadie is another joy in our already joyous household. She is completely lovable, friendly and playful. Having four dogs can be difficult at times, but she definitely completed the picture. Without her, Max would not have had the constant companionship that she provides. The pugs are much more relaxed in the house now, and love her just as much as we do.

You Tube and Music

2009-07-06T07:17:00.002-07:00

I have two Ipods, and I never listen to either of them.

I also don't purchase CD's and I only listen to the ones that Joe puts in the car. In the 4Runner that would be the Twilight Soundtrack, Paramore, and One Republic.

I usually listen to the radio assuming there is something on I want to listen to.

I haven't downloaded a song off some bootleg program since my freshman year of college.

Instead, I'm on You Tube every day listening to whatever I fancy. I don't watch the videos and I don't care what they are-- I just open a new window and listen. There is probably an easier way to listen to music, like that playlist website where I could find a whole list of songs. But, that would require me creating and signing into something.

I seem to be inclined to anything I can have fun singining along to. I listen to Don't Stop Believing from the TV Show Glee every morning. I've been listening to When You Believe by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston and right now I'm listening to What a Girl Wants by Christina Aguilera. Every now and then I'll pop on Even Angels Fall by Jessica Riddle from the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack.

My favorite year of music though is 1997::: Hanson, Spicegirls, Jewel, Third Eye Blind, Duncan Sheik, Robyn, Sister Hazel, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole, Merril Bainbridge, Donna Lewis and on and on and on. I think it was the year of my musical awakening. I listened to very little before that year (Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men and Celine Dion) and 7th Grade opened up a lot more music to me.

I recommend going through past Billboard charts to see what year you identify with the most.

Here is the list from 1997 Billboard 100::

1. Candle In The Wind 1997 - Elton John
2. Foolish Games / You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
3. I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans
4. Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
5. Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy
6. I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly
7. Don't Let Go (Love) - En Vogue
8. Return Of The Mack - Mark Morrison
9. How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
10. Wannabe - Spice Girls
11. Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
12. MMMBop - Hanson
13. For You I Will - Monica
14. You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
15. Bitch - Meredith Brooks
16. Nobody - Keith Sweat
17. Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
18. Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik
19. Hard To Say I'm Sorry - Az Yet Featuring Peter Cetera
20. Mo Money Mo Problems - Notorious B.I.G.
21. The Freshmen - Verve Pipe
22. I Want You - Savage Garden
23. No Diggity - BLACKstreet Featuring Dr. Dre
24. I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face) - Rome
25. Hypnotize - Notorious B.I.G.
26. Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface
27. In My Bed - Dru Hill
28. Say You'll Be There - Spice Girls
29. Do You Know (What It Takes) - Robyn
30. 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
31. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T. - Changing Faces
32. Honey - Mariah Carey
33. I Believe In You And Me - Whitney Houston
34. Da' Dip - Freaknasty
35. 2 Become 1 - Spice Girls
36. All For You - Sister Hazel
37. Cupid - 112
38. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? - Paula Cole
39. Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin
40. It's Your Love - Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
41. Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit - Gina G
42. Mouth - Merril Bainbridge
43. All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
44. I'm Still In Love With You - New Edition
45. Invisible Man - 98 Degrees
46. Not Tonight - Lil' Kim
47. Look Into My Eyes - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
48. Get It Together - 702
49. All By Myself - Celine Dion
50. It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Celine Dion
51. My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People
52. Where Do You Go - No Mercy
53. I Finally Found Someone - Barbra Streisand & Bryan Adams
54. I'll Be - Foxy Brown Featuring Jay-Z
55. If It Makes You Happy - Sheryl Crow
56. Never Make A Promise - Dru Hill
57. When You Love A Woman - Journey
58. Up Jumps Da Boogie - Magoo And Timbaland
59. I Don't Want To / I Love Me Some Him - Toni Braxton
60. Everyday Is A Winding Road - Sheryl Crow
61. Cold Rock A Party - Mc Lyte
62. Pony - Ginuwine
63. Building A Mystery - Sarah McLachlan
64. I Love You Always Forever - Donna Lewis
65. Your Woman - White Town
66. C U When U Get There - Coolio
67. Change The World - Eric Clapton
68. My Baby Daddy - B-Rock & The Bizz
69. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
70. Gotham City - R. Kelly
71. Last Night - Az Yet
72. ESPN Presents The Jock Jam - Various Artists
73. Big Daddy - Heavy D
74. What About Us - Total
75. Smile - Scarface
76. What's On Tonight - Montell Jordan
77. Secret Garden - Bruce Springsteen
78. The One I Gave My Heart To - Aaliyah
79. Fly Like An Eagle - Seal
80. No Time - Lil' Kim
81. Naked Eye - Luscious Jackson
82. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) - Los Del Rio
83. On & On - Erykah Badu
84. Don't Wanna Be A Player - Joe
85. I Shot The Sheriff - Warren G
86. You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time) - Brian McKnight Featuring Mase
87. Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Madonna
88. Someone - SWV
89. Go The Distance - Michael Bolton
90. One More Time - Real McCoy
91. Butta Love - Next
92. Coco Jamboo - Mr. President
93. Twisted - Keith Sweat
94. Barbie Girl - Aqua
95. When You're Gone / Free To Decide - Cranberries
96. Let Me Clear My Throat - DJ Kool
97. I Like It - Blackout Allstars
98. You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow - Toni Braxton
99. You Must Love Me - Madonna
100. Let It Go - Ray J

2009-07-05T08:24:00.003-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!!

Fourth of July is Joe's favorite holiday. We had a nice breakfast together and then spent the afternoon amidst a cleaning overhaul to prepare for my cousins' visit on Wednesday. We'll have three kids here (Alec, 17; Brooke, 14; Rachael; 10) for two weeks!!

Once cleaning step 1 was done, we met up with our friend Vivek and took the Light Rail down to Tempe for the fireworks show at Tempe Town Lake.

The show was great. There were quite a few parts when we thought we saw the finale--- and then it kept on going!

Vivek was shocked at how great the show was!!

The best picture of the night, in my opinion. It looks like a photograph of the sun from space!

Overall, we had a great time. Now on to cleaning day 2!

Why I love Doberman's

2009-06-21T10:10:00.003-07:00

I am a sucker for puppies -- which is why we have four dogs. At no point was I able to "put my foot down" and "just say no." I remember being extremely annoyed that Joe wanted a third dog-- a large dog, and a Doberman at that. I was easily convinced by You Tube videos of Dobermans with pugs and Dobermans with babies.

The videos only convinced me that I was willing to go look at a litter of puppies. Of course, once I saw them, my puppy fever was raging and I had to have one! Max had a lot of litter mates-- he was one of only two red's though, both males. Joe wanted a black Doberman, but because I didn't want the dog to begin with, so he let me be the one to pick the dog.

I chose Max because he was continuosly playful with us. Unlike his litter mates, who would come out for a second and then creep back to sleep, Max would stay out with us. We saw him twice the afternoon we chose him and he was like that both times. I also loved the color-- Red Dobermans are not as common as the Black ones.

Max has been a constant joy interspliced with moments of being a constant pain in the ass (haha). At only one year old, he has already surpassed the high end of the average size of a male Doberman. The max is typically 90 pounds and 28 inches. Max has maxed out and is still growing! In fact, this weekend we have noticed that his chest is beginning to drop.

It's difficult to explain to people just how much I love my Dobermans. They have amazing personalities, are sweet, sensitive and protective dogs. They love us in such a huge way, it makes not loving them back impossible.

Sadie, for example, is the sweetest dog. She is lovable and gentle. While writing this at our dining table, Sadie came up to me and rested her head on my arm. She left after some petting and kisses to her nose. Not a single person has met Sadie and not immediately commented on how sweet she is.

Max, looks terrifying. I'll admit it- I nearly cried at a Vet visit awhile back because the Vet put a muzzle on him. The Vet assistant kept saying "look at his eyes, look at his eyes" and they didn't want to risk him losing it and attacking them. Clearly, the Vet had not worked a lot with Dobermans, which is a common problem for Doberman owners. By contrast, one of our neighbors is a dog trainer (personal and police) and as such, has worked with Dobermans. He talked about how people will be afraid of Max but said "look at his eyes, you can tell he is a puppy."

I understand the fear-- they are used in movies a lot to show a "scary" dog. We saw one on a preview for Sons of Anarchy the other day. Just yesterday, Joe and I were watching America's Sweethearts and Catherine Zeta-Jones character has a Doberman. We laughed a lot at the end because the Doberman at the very end (you see a close up the face) is supposedly growling. The Doberman is actually not growling, it must have been spliced in after. The Doberman then jumps at Billy Crystal's character and "attack" barks. The bark is actually a play bark, and the jump is play too-- our Dobes do it to us if we ask them to jump up onto our chests.

We've heard that the reason they are used in movies is because they look ferocious but actors are not afraid to work with them because of how sweet they are.

The point is simply that when it comes to Dobermans, you definitely cannot judge a book by it's cover. I would recommend one to anyone, with the only stipulation being that they are not dogs that can be left alone alot, require a lot of personal love and affection, and are athletic and need someone who can work out with them. Beyond that, they are priceless and I am constantly marveling at how much I love them and how much happiness they have brought into my life.

Here are some great videos that showcase just how sweet they are (Sidenote: Joe and I do not children, but when we do, we will now allow our Dobermans to be around the baby alone. Nor, would we allow our baby to bathed by a Doberman like one of the videos, unless we were absolutely sure they would not react to anything the baby could do. Dobermans are wonderful, but like all dogs, extra care must be taken around small children to ensure that nothing bad happens. We will work tireless with all four of our dogs, to make sure they are good and safe around children)

Doberman bathing baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixvim4OlPfg

Doberman guards baby from other dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXCrmrcQnU4

The Weekend is Almost Here

2009-06-19T07:40:00.003-07:00

I don't consider myself a weekend fiend. I look forward to them, of course. But I can usually get through my week without waiting impatiently for the end of the work week to come. The summers this year have been so mild, I've been extremely impatient during the week.

In any case, I'm just thankful it is Friday and am looking forward to a very relaxing weekend. Trying to be come proactive when it comes to the pugs. Need to get better about brushing them (you'd be amazed at how much fur Otis has) and entertaining them. A lively pug makes a long living pug. Luckily, they seem to run and play at Sydney speed which is pretty chill.

Here's a pic from a recent trip Joe, myself and our friend Vivek took to San Diego. San Diego is one of Joe and my favorite Sydney. We'd love to take the dogs, but the cost to have pets in a hotel room is monstrous. Not happening :)

Happy Friday!!!

Final Bathroom

2009-06-16T07:10:00.006-07:00

The guest bathroom renovation has been done for awhile, but I finally have gotten around taking and posting the final pictures.

Before:

After:

The sink that started it all - Thanks Chuck and Allison!

New medicine cabinet/mirror and paint

New light fixture and swith covers/faceplates

New flooring-- ceramic tile w/ glass inserts

Lastly, new bathroom textiles.

Such a shame..

2009-06-14T17:30:00.003-07:00

Costco Home is closing. I understand we are in recession, but it's ONE store. Even Razmataz can stay open.

To mourn the loss of our beloved Costco home, Joe and I decided to go and see if we could find any good deals on furniture. We did!

Good find # 1 : Book Shelf
The shelves are glass, the bottom cabinets are mirrored and the sides have an intricate wood carved detail (see second photo). We'll be moving the books to a bookshelf that we are going to go purchase off Craigslist after I'm done with this blog.

Good find #2 : Golf Art
This piece is rather large. This makes it a perfect fit for the wall above our sofa which you can see in photo number two. The subject of the photo are golf clubs and golf balls. We love golf in this house!

Good find # 3: Jazz Art
I'll tell you right now this piece was $20.00. It's a fun pop of color on a wall that previously had nothing on it.

Below is a view from the front door walking in. Like I said, the Jazz piece takes up a lot of space.

Great find #4: Flower Art
You can see the framed print in the photo above, and here is a view looking down from the loft. I like that when you walk in to the house your eye catches the red from the Jazz photo and the red from the flower print at the same time. It visually connects the two spaces.

If you frequent this blog then you know that we also painted this weekend, because the turquoise wall was a color called "Toasty Gray" before. I despise all walls that have Toast Gray in our house, so I decided it was time to change at least one of them. I wanted something that would POP and something that was FUN. The color is Riverway by Sherwin Williams. Both Joe and I love it. Thank God because when I got the first coat on there yesterday he said he loved the color but wasn't sure about it being on such a main wall. I think it came together great in the end.

Great find #5: Bookshelf/wine shelf
Joe and I had been talking about building a modular shelving system to fit underneath the stair case. It's an empty little niche that we thought would be convenient for some extra storage. We saw this at Costco and added it to our growing list of items to purchase. It's perfect for the space and holds wine, alcohol and whatever else we need it to.

Miscellaneous:::
Joe has been busy updating the loft to be more conducive for business because he is going to be doing a lot more work from home in the near future. First, he had his CPA certificate, AICPA certificate, and ASCPA certificate framed. He also did some rearranging so he can use the space to work and to relax when he needs a break. The chair is a new find--- recently purchased off Craigslist.

All in all, the art, furniture and paint make a huge difference. The house looks more filled in, the walls less bare which makes everything more cozy. Off to get another bookshelf! Since Costco Home has failed us, good thing we still have Craigslist.

Update

2009-06-08T07:28:00.005-07:00

I originally started this blog so that our friends and family would be able to keep up-to-date with our new home renovations. This would save on us having to send constant emails with new photos of all our projects.

We have been in the house for 8 months and the major overhaul of projects is over, ending with the hardscaping of the backyard. It has been the biggest transformation to date, only to be later out done by our hopeful, future plants of renovating our kitchen and master bathroom.
Since things are calming down, and I don't want this blog to be without purpose, I think I'll just blog about the random happenings in our lives.
Starting this weekend.

Saturday was a great day. Joe and I took all of the dogs to the park at the end of our street. We have a large, gated park at the end of the our cul-de-sac and since we happen to live at the end of the cul-de-sac, we our very close to the park. The Doberman's are high-energy dogs, so Joe spends many an evening after work playing with them there.

We watched the dogs run up and down the park, chasing the ball and the frisbee. Joe is trying to teach Max how to jump and catch a frisbee. He has shown a real knack for doggy athleticism.
Someone in the area was nice enough to put a small doggy pool next to the water hose. Bless whoever put it there because it is wonderful for the dogs. Brady, espicially.

Brady is our smallest dog, but he might as well be a Whippet for as fast as he can run. He easily keeps up with the Dobermans and loves the game "Chase Max." He can really book it! Unfortunately, the poor boy is a PUG and his respitory system is not really meant for speed racing. I took him to the water hose to cool him off and get him some water, and found the pool there! I dropped him in and Joe and I moved our play up the hill so all the dogs could enjoy the water.

Sadie, who is not a good swimmer (or rather, not a swimmer at all) rather enjoyed simply standing in the pool of water.

After the park, Joe had a craving for Gelato and he found this amazing place called Arlecchino Gelataria. We took the Mini + Jake and had a nice brunch (I had crepes w/ honey and fruit, YUM) and some Gelato before heading home.

The rest of Saturday was pretty lazy. We spent Sunday doing mostly outdoor work which included spraying weed killer in the front planter beds (weeding sucks) and finally painting the fire pit. The weekend concluded with a nice dinner while watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith on TV and then some reading before bed.

Now it's Monday and I'm looking forward to Friday already!

Everybody getting ready to chase the ball. Or, in Brady's case, chase Max.

Sadie won!

Sadie thought it was great fun to be able to stand in a giant water bowl. How convenient!

Happy!

Ah, relaxation! I love how they are all facing the same direction :)

Just in time for Summer

2009-05-25T21:41:00.005-07:00

I'm going to keep this short and sweet (words, that is) because the photos will speak for themselves. Joe and I had our backyard renovated and it has been a HUGE transformation. There is still a lot of landscaping left to be done, but the hardscape is finished and we purchased a comfy, cushy conversational seating set this morning and have been enjoying it all day!

BEFORE

AFTER

Renovation Part 1:
Side yard transformation into fire pit and second patio. Paver "pads" aka "giant steps" connect the front gate enterest to the main patio. In the center is a smaller patio with a built in fire pit. The fire pit is rectangular (double the fire!) and is built out of an accent wall. The stucco is curing, so we will wait a few weeks before painting it. In the next couple weeks, we plan on ordering A LOT of granite rock to fill in the areas around the pavers.

Renovation Part 2:
Main yard transformation included a large paver patio, sod and new sprinkler system, concrete curbing, flagstone steps and paver walkway to connect the garage and the house. The area surrounding the curbing is still dirt, we need to install a drip irrigation system and electrical system before planting. Eventually, we plan on using tropical plant/shrub/trees to fill out the space so it can become something of a Oasis!

I'll post additional photos later as we finish little projects here and there to bring everything together. The transformation has been extreme and we are very happy with the results. It's such an enjoyable and functional space now. I can't wait until the plants go in, but considering the hottest months are coming up here, I'm inclined to wait until the fall before we start any serious planting. Everything got done just in time for Memorial Day and Summer!

Maximus

2009-05-19T14:13:00.006-07:00

I'll begin by saying I did not want a third dog. I also did not want a fourth dog, but that is all a part of Sadie's story. The pugs were and always have been more of my dogs. They require little exercise which suits my lifestyle fantastically. However, Joe wanted to get a dog that he could hike, wrestle and play with. He wanted a dog that could protect our home but also one that would adapt well to living with the pugs, and eventually, one that would do well with children.

A Doberman took a lot of convincing, and Joe was 100% right in his breed of choice. Dobermans are loving, loyal, playful and all-around wonderful animals. I don't have applicable life experience, but it appears they do well with children as well. They are nurturing and protective.

We went to a Doberman breeder just to "look" and walked away with Maximus. I got to pick which of the litter I wanted, but we knew that we wanted a male. Joe wanted a black Doberman, but I thought the reds were so beautiful. Maximus was the only dog that left the sleeping pile of puppies to play, and he was the only one that cried when the breeders took his momma dog out of the room. I was hooked.

If you've had a dog, then you probably recognize this toy. It's the little soccer ball toy you can get a all the Pet Stores and Target. He was an itty bitty thing, with really large paws.

The first night we got him he pooped in his kennel. Ants found their way in and he had ant bites all over his puppy belly. Poor Max. It usually takes me awhile to get used to have another dog, to get over the anxiety of more cleaning, more food, more love, more potty training etc. but the minute he got those little ant bites I just loved him completely and wanted to take care of him!

Such a proud little boy!

The pugs had no idea he would get to be so big. So, they let him do things like, oh- bite their faces! Brady was his constant playmate.

Best friends!

Here he is 10 days after his ear cropping surgery. His ears are "posted" meaning they are taped so they stand straight up. This continues until the cartilage hardens and the ears will stand naturally. There are many different opinions on ear cropping. In some countries, any kind of physical appearance alteration you can make to a dog is banned. I can assure you that we did a lot of research before deciding we wanted to crop his ears. One, it is breed standard. Would you be able to recognize a Doberman without the ear crops? Probably not. Second, it helps with hearing. The ears and tails are HUGE without the crop/dock. Third, in terms of a protection dog, a Doberman does not look fierce or menacing at all without the ear crop. I am not going to lie and say he probably did not feel pain as a result of the surgery. But the pain he felt would be comparable to a spay/neuter surgery. As anyone who has dogs knows, you can tell if they are in pain. The only problem Max ever had with his surgery was having to wear the cone. It scared the pugs and they would not go near him for the 10 days he had it on. So, his biggest issue was lonliness until it came off :)

Here is Max after the first postings came out. His ears fell so we had to post longer then this, but it gives you a good idea of what they initially looked like. They were too big for his head, but they were done so he would grow into them.

Max is very unaware of his own size. When he was a puppy he basically stole the dog bed we had for Otis, so we gave Otis this bed. Naturally, Max then stole the new bed and claimed it as his own. He is a lot bigger now then in this picture, and he still tries to sleep in it. There is no way to get his whole body in it now, so he kind of sits in it and pours out on all sides.

We do NOT allow this anymore. But Max is sad we don't. He loves sitting on the couch, the stairs, people's knees, people's shoulders, the pugs-- anything he can use as a stool, he will. Height wise, his rear end is taller then our couch. So, he likes to back up and try to sit on the laps of people sitting on the couch. This, apparently, he has decided does not classify as actually being on the couch, so he thinks it is okay.

Here he is more recently, much larger. Again always playing with Brady, though now he has Sadie who is a much more appropriate play mate. Brady's method of attacking Max is to run at full speed and JUMP in the air to bite his face. Any fear you may have of a Doberman hurting a Pug should be reversed. We do watch them carefully because Max is so unaware of his size, but he loves them.

Max peering over our gate.

We love Max so much. There is a different kind of love for big dogs and little dogs. Max can be a human pillow. He has the most loving demeanor, is ultra-sensitive and wants nothing more then to be loved. He requires a lot of work, has a lot of energy, is thick headed and sometimes difficult to handle, but I wouldn't trade him in for anything. It is hard to believe he is only 1 year old. He has a lot of growing up left to do (both mentally and physically) and will be a completely different dog this time next year. For starters, he'll be enormous, well over 100 pounds. Also, he will start to mellow out. He'll become more aware of his size and how to control his body. He will learn to respond better to commands in public spaces (focus is a big issue now) and he will learn to harness his energy a bit better. Overall, he is a wonderful dog who everybody loves and deserves all the big hugs and kisses that he gets and gives!

It all started with a sink...

2009-04-29T12:30:00.006-07:00

Easter this year was hosted by my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Allison who kindly offered to give Joe and I the pedastal sink that they previously had in their guest bathroom. We managed to fit it in the Mini Cooper and discussed all the things we could do to the guest bathroom. Our inspiration and motivation: the Sink!

Above: The original look of the bathroom, and our mini-renovation afterward we moved in which included a fresh coat of paint and updated linens.

Above: Dry fit of the sink and new, recessed, oval, medicine cabinet.

Luckily, we did not go through with the initial of plan of tearing out the bath tub and shower. We will work on that later. Instead, we decided to do the following:

1. Replace the flooring
2. Install the new sink
3. Repaint
4. Update Toilet (new seat and new flush lever)
5. New light fixture
6. New electrical outlets and plugs
7. Updated bathroom linens to match the new style of the bathroom
8. New medicine cabinet
9. New shelving/towel bar
10. Replaced floor molding

We began by removing the old tile and using a chisel to remove the old tile adhesive.

We then did a complete dry fit of the tiles, adhered them to the ground and grouted.

We decided to paint the walls a blue-gray color called Steely Gray from Sherwin Williams. We also chose to paint the ceiling the same color as well, which helps open up the space. I was given the special job of painting.

We still have some minor touch ups and the light fixture needs to be more securely affixed to the wall. So, I'll post the final pictures in a separate blog. Joe and I are happy with the final result and are glad we started on a smaller room so we can learn from our mistakes and do a better job on all of our other projects.

Here are some things we learned:
1) Before deciding to do a complicate pattern with your tile, research how to lay it out and make your cuts. Our cuts were not accurate and while the overall effect of the pattern we chose is very cool, it was a huge pain and we made mistakes.
2) Pre-mixed Tile Adhesive works fine, Pre-mixed Grout dries out to fast and is difficult to work with
3) Turn off all circuit breakers before working with electrical components. Obviously this is a DUH, but Joe nearly got himself electrocuted again so I'm stressing it again.
4) Consider painting the ceiling. You can go lighter, darker or the same as the wall color. Rather then look unusual, it looks great.
5) Update the small things. Of all the little things, we replaced the flush lever on the toilet. Combined with the new toilet seat cover our toilet looks more modern and newer. We are also a huge fan of changing out the light switch covers (see previous post for the kinds we used in our house).
6) Consider using a pedastal sink. I know that a lot of people don't like them because they don't offer any storage but in a small space a pedastal sink allows you more visual space, which makes the room look bigger. You can add storage in other ways like glass shelving, which is clear but practical. Or, you could install a wall cabinet above the toilet.
7) Think outside the box. We originally painted the bathroom orange, an unusual color but Joe and I both loved it. We chose a gray for this bathroom because it is a modern color but looks great with the classic look of the pedastal sink. We chose ceramic tiles but inset blue, glass tiles for a unique look. It's a fun place to experiment and also a great place to get your feet wet before tackling larger renovation projects.

Brady: The Valentine's Day Pug

2009-04-27T22:07:00.008-07:00

Brady was Joe's gift to me on our first Valentine's Day after we got married. I had wanted a black pug for a long time, so I was very excited!

Comfort toys and Dumbo Ears

Joe and I both believe it is likely that Brady has some mental problems, or at the very least had some bad experiences when he was a puppy. We got him when he was young but he had been sold and returned by one set of owners before we got him. We don't know why they returned him or what happened to him, but when he got him he was an extremely terrified, nervous, sensitive little dog.

First, we have comfort toys. Brady grabs a toy, crams into his mouth and keeps it there until he is comfortable any time he is scared. He does this the most when people come over, and sometimes he will do it when we come home. He does it far less now, but he used to do it all the time. It is sometimes amusing watching him, he does not care what the toy is, it just needs to be close. I've seen him use socks and my slippers if he is in a clutch and they are closer then a toy! Size is also not an issue. In fact, I think the bigger the better. We used to have a couple toys that were larger then Brady, so when Brady used them the comfort toy worked really well- it protected him from even being seen!

Second, we have dumbo ears. This, combined with crouching and the comfort toys are the three major signs that Brady is upset. And when any of the three happen, we immediately comfort him. This has been our way of dealing with it from the beginning. Brady needs comfort more then anything else in the world. So, when he is scared, we provide as much comfort as possible so he knows he is safe. He is the most cuddly, squishy and huggable of all of our dogs. You can tote him around like a baby, thus why he is always our Baby Brady. He is also the smallest of all our dogs.

Brady grew attached to Otis before Otis grew attached to Brady. For the most part, Otis was not too keen on this little black pug we just threw into his life. Now they sleep together, play together and I don't know what would happen to Baby Brady if Otis was not around. I'm pretty sure Otis is his hero. And according to the photo above, he also makes a good pillow. Tell me Brady does not have the cutest sleeping face in the whole wide pug world? :)

Brady may be sensitive, but the little pug has some serious spunk too. Brady's whole entire world changed when we got Max. He became a ferocious little beast. I think Max became a giant comfort toy and combined with his already profound dependence on Otis, he now had something even bigger to protect him. Brady plays and fights with the Doberman's as though he was a Doberman. He can play fetch and run as fast as they do and when we let them outside to play, Brady will run and jump up on Max to antagonize him into playing. Having the Dobermans has allowed Brady to more fully experience his potential. He has gone so far from being a terrified little puppy who used comfort toys as a means of protection to a brave little pug who uses his friendship with all of our dogs as a mean of play and enjoyment.

Can you spot Baby Brady trying to play with the big pups??

Our relationship with each dog is completely different. And while Otis tends to get the congeniality vote, Brady is the pug that people veer to after time. Brady is the dog for the nurturers in the world, the people who love to comfort and take care of things. Brady is often the first dog we will pick up and the dog that gets a free pass to jumping on the couch for a quick pet even though we explicitly forbid this. There is just something inherently innocent and lovely about him. Joe and I love Brady so much, I can't imagine not having his sweet, wrinkled face to smoosh and kiss every day!

Dog Files: Otis

2009-04-24T16:07:00.005-07:00

Joe and I have FOUR dogs. We got them each for different reasons and they are special and bring a different dynamic into the household.

Otis came first. When I first moved back from Arizona, Joe recommended we get a puppy so I would have company. He worked and went to school full time, while I did both only part time-so, I was home a great deal more often then he was. Narrowing down the breeds to Pug took a fraction of a second- I knew that would be the dog for me.

Otis on his first day home:

There was only one ad in the paper that we called and still had a puppy pug available. Joe told me it wouldn't even matter what he looked like, I was bound to like him no matter what. And he was right. We pulled into the apartment complex the owner lived at, and tiny Otis came running out. He jumped on me the minute I knelt down. He could have been all sorts of ugly and I would have wanted him, but he was miniature, adorable and wrinkled!

In going through my pictures from Otis' puppy months, he spent a lot of time on our laps while we were doing homework and/or on the computer. Since we were both still in school we were using our computer's a lot so it became Otis' nap time.

My sister was living with me when we first got Otis. I actually abandoned him the first night we got him and ran off to Joe's house. He cried and howled and screamed non stop when he was put in the kennel and my instinct reaction was to flee. So Auntie Julian was left to deal with Otis on his first night. Luckily, I've grown up and Otis has forgiven me. My first instinct now would be to stay and comfort. I'm significantly more patient.

Puppies are deceitful. They appear to only want to sleep and play--- until they discovering peeing, pooping and chewing. For the longest time we had a running joke that Otis only looked things that started with the letter "P." He loved to play, to poop, to be with other puppies and most of all people.

Otis is the most people oriented of all our dogs. Probably because he did not have a playmate until he was over a year old, he was always around friends and family. He is my perfect companion. He is not all that active, I didn't even know he was capable of playing as much as he does until we got Brady. He also knows that I don't like kisses from the dogs. Instead, Otis will just put his chin up to my chin and sniff. That is our way of kissing. Mostly, Otis just wants to be with a person. When we have guests, his only concern is making sure he does not leave their side (which is why he gets the most attention) and is the first dog begging to come back inside after his "duties" in the backyard.

One of Otis' favorite thing is to sleep with us at night. Unfortunately for him, this was routine until we got Brady and we started kenneling Otis at night again so Brady would not be alone. Now with four dogs, we are definitely not inviting all of them to bed, so every now and then we will allow the pugs to sleep with us. Otis has the same routine, he will immediately make his way under the covers and sleep at my feet. I guess my calf makes a good pillow. He does not appear to do this when Joe goes to bed first- so I think he must like being between the both of us.

Otis is a happy pug. He is also the alpha-male of this family. He breaks up fights, he comforts Brady and spends as much of his time as possible with Joe and I. I can't ever imagine not having him in our lives. He is the original and the best possible pug a pug owner could ask for.

P.S. We have people here cleaning our air ducts--- the noise is bothering Otis so he is camped out underneath my legs as I'm sitting at the dining table writing this. Scared or not, this would be Otis' position of choice :)

Why patience is a virtue

2009-04-20T20:56:00.004-07:00

On my last blog I said:
"Already I know that the lavender plants will need to be replaced."
Well, that teaches me!
My main concern with the lavender bushes was that they were not producing new flowers. The Fairy Dusters, both daisy varities, the roses and all the annuals have already flowered several times. The lavender blooms were dead and the only thing that stopped me from removing them now,was the fact that new growth was sprouting out of the ground on one of them.
Here is what I saw this weekend: NEW GROWTH!!

The arrows are pointing to new buds. I deadheaded the plant after this (trimming off dead buds) which should encourage further growth. I recently changed my every day watering schedule to a four day a week watering schedule. Daily watering is only necessary until plants get established which as far as I can tell has occured. Lavender plants do better with less water so I think this change helped spur the plant into action. The same thing also occured with the Bower Vine we have in the front entry way. FYI- It is recommended to plant things with similar watering needs near each other so you don't run into my problem. But I wanted specific plants-- so I did it anyways!

Also, the Arizona Grandiflower Rose is budding. It's the tiniest bud I've noticed forming on either of the roses. The blooms should be sunset colored. So far, while both the rose bushes have buds none have bloomed. Still waiting on that one.

I didn't start this blog with the intention of writing only about gardening but it has been so fulfilling and enjoyable. Right now Joe and I are in the process of renovating our guest bathroom. Every week is a new project. Two weekends ago we updated the shelves in our walk-in closet to make a better configuration and took off the closet doors to open the space. The hope is for our next major project to be landscaping the backyard. It's a clean slate but is a large space. We are hoping to build a large patio, built in seating and barbeque area, ramada and more! Oh the joys of an older home--- our house is the same age as Joe! :)

Gardening

2009-04-16T20:47:00.005-07:00

My favorite part about gardening is watching how everything grows. It amazes me that one day our entire front gardening plots will be full of mature bushes like Green Hopseed, Euryop Daisys, and Fairy Dusters. Our Agave and Aloe varities will continue to grow and there is still open space for new perennials and ever changing choices for annuals each new season.

I didn't walk into planting thinking that everything was going to work, there are things that I'm sure I will change including plants that will not make it through the summer or the next winter. My tastes may also grow, or some of the plants may not fit with the eventual theme of the front yard gardening area. Already I know that the lavender plants will need to be replaced. They smell amazing but they appear to be a better potted plant where I can control the water conditions more carefully. Everything in the front gardening areas are on heavy drip lines and I've read that the lavender will thrive if left more unattended.

I've also discovered that I love roses. Passionately. They are by far the most fascinating of the plants I have in the garden. They change every day. I was so nervous that they wouldn't grow when they remained unchanged the first few weeks after planting. I could not find a single website that could explain what new growth looked like, until finally I came across a photo of a newly planted rose. I then learned that new growth is red. Once I knew what to look for, I started noticing the roses were growing all the time. Because they are newly planted, nearly half of both of the rose bushes are red. Which means, that they are growing, growing, all the time. Both of the bushes have small buds, and I am watching, waiting for them to flower.

I know there is much to learn, but this is my first year. I'm slowly building my bank of gardening knowledge and experimenting with different kinds of plants. Maybe next year I'll try planting from seeds, bulbs or try an herb garden. For now, I'm trying to get the main plants for the front yard gardening area on their way to success.

Here are two photos of things I find fascinating in my garden:

Fairy Duster
I originally liked this particular plant because I noticed that it blooms in the winter. I paid special attention to what was flowering during the colder months because I wanted to make sure that my gardening areas retained some color during the winter. I also liked that the Fairy Duster was red, because it feels very holiday to me and appropriate for the season. The plant is also amazing. This picture is great because it shows how and why the Fairy Duster is named. First, the bloom on the bottom left is self-explanatory. A ton of tiny tendrils form the shape that gives the Fairy Duster its name. What is even cooler is how that happens. See the small cluster of tiny spheres on the upper right? That small cluster will EXPLODE and out will come the Fairy Duster bloom.This is how the plant spreads it seeds -they are literally shot out of the plant itself.

My camera did not cooperate in taking any photographs of the new flower buds growing on my roses, but I was able to get this shot of a few of the leaves. I noticed that the Double Delight Rose was being munched on by some critter bug. It was easy to notice at first because the missing parts were perfect semi-circular cuts. I learned this is the result of the leaf cutter bee. You can't kill the leaf cutter bee because it helps pollinate plants so is an important part of the landscaping eco-system. It's also difficult to kill anyway because it doesn't live on the plant, it merely drops by when it needs some leaves and whisks it off to build it's nest. The semi-circles are either small or large and they are basically identical to one another. I have never seen the leaf-cutter bee in action, but it would be interesting to. Although it makes my small rose bushes like odd (I'll notice it less when they are more mature) it does not harm the plant. I'm amazed that a small bee can cut such a precise shape and carry it to the nest. I'm more then happy to donate some of my rose leaves to the leaf cutter bee's home. On the bottom left and the upper right you can see the red I was talking about before. The Leaf Cutter bee has only muched on solid green leavess. New grow starts out very red and starts fading into a light pink and eventual green once matured.

Saguaro Lake

2009-03-22T15:11:00.009-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Joe, Jake and I went to Saguaro Lake for a short day-trip. Jake brought his lab mix, Lilly, and we brought our Dobermans, Max and Sadie. We took an offroad trail and saw great scenery. Joe and Jake also enjoyed the four wheeling. Myself and the pups were a little less enthused :)

Joe, Syd and the Dobes

Our vehicle: The Four Runner!

Me (Sydney) overlooking Saguaro Lake in the background.

One of the Four Wheeling "obstacles"

Max using Sadie as a pillow

Joe Drove.. and Jake took most of the pictures

After the four wheeling we took a short hike around Saguaro Lake and let the puppies swim. Max loves the water, but this picture shows that he didn't quite having swimming down, at least not in his new, giant body. He swam with his paws out of the water like he was trying to walk on it.

Eventually, he got it. Here he is with Lilly, who won the catch the ball game every time.

Because of this, Max decided to focus his attention on getting Lilly, and not the ball.

Jake and Lilly

Jake

Four Wheeling

Lastly, here is a video of all of the dogs swimming. Lilly is obviously the most experienced and graceful of the three. This is a great example of Max trying to walk on water instead of swimming in it. And poor Sadie, who we now realize has probably never swum before in her life. She attempted to swim, but was more successful at semi-drowning. Better luck next time :

Tree Trimming

2009-03-10T18:14:00.003-07:00

We have a massive, no....enormous.... no gargantuan Pine Tree in our front yard. It's one of the trees you would more likely see in Prescott, Payson, or Flagstaff instead of smack tab in the middle of Tempe. As much as I love having something that reminds me of cooler weather as part of my landscaping, it has already become a big pain. We have to deal with a lot of pine cones and pine needles and the tree roots have already broken our irrigation system. So, as a temporary fix we decided to just trim a majority of the bottom branches off so we would get more sunlight and less pine needles on the roof. Here is a reminder of the house before:

See how some of the tree branches are actually sweeping against our roof? Here is how they did-
the tree trimmer actually climbed up into the tree with a chainsaw and hacked everything down!

And this man caught the falling branches.

And finally, the finished project. Big tree = Big difference!!!

Landscaping, Oh My!

2009-03-08T14:55:00.008-07:00

We began the process of landscaping our front yard immediately upon moving in. A previous blog showed Joe and Co. working on repairing damage to our irrigation system. We have also planted winter grass in the front lawn and removed all of the pre-existing shrubbery. I don't have photos to directly illustrate but there are four planting areas available in our front yard and all four had to be gutted entirely. They are the the front left, the front right, the left entry way and the right entry way. The left entry way will ultimately be filled with pavers and used as a sitting area.

Step 1: Remove all of the existing landscaping. Most of the shrubs were 3 feet high and filled in every available space. Weeds were overgrown. We removed all of the shrubs first, and came back later to remove all of the weeds until we were left with a smooth layer of dirt.

The front left landscaping area. In the small photo you can see the Oleanders that had overtaken the area. The only thing we kept were the Pygmy Palm Trees.

The front right landscaping area. Again, everything here has been removed. This area was a weed-disaster zone.

Joe had to remove the Oleander bushes and he did so with the assistance of our Toyota Fourunner. He hooked heavy duty chain around the base of all four Oleanders and yanked the root balls straight out of the ground. We are happy with our Oleander-free existence!

Step 2: Organizing the plants. Not including annuals, there are nineteen plants in the front landscaping areas. I'll discuss them more below.

Step 3: We had to fix and extend our drip line system so it would irrigate all of our new plants. As the plants grow, the drip lines will have to grow with them. It is a tedious process but essential to keep everything thriving.

Step 4: ROCK! We decided to place a rock layer over the ground. We chose a light colored stone that blends nicely with the exterior color of our house. We love the look and thinks it brings a nice finishing touch to the landscaping.

Here is a more detailed view of the front left landscaping area. We have Euryops Daisy (the yellow plant), two small rose bushes, two Agave varieties, an Aloe variety, Fairy Duster and a green Hopseed bush. The fairy duster is a red variety and difficult to see. It will be a medium-sized shrub once established.

The right front landscaping area. We planted Euryops Daisy, an Aloe variety, Green Hopseed Bush, Fairy Duster and two purple daisy annuals.

The front entry way. The vine is a Bower vine, it will produce beautiful white flowers with magenta centers. We hope to carry the vine across the arbor across our entry way. The vine is surrounded by a variety of annuals and a layer of rock has been addded here as well.

Everything is planted and the irrigation system is working. Now we have to determine how long and how often to whater, when and what to fertilize with, to make sure that we give all our plants the best chance at survival. We purchased "Moon Juice" from the nursery and this is administered to the plants weekly and is supposed to help them become established. Arizona summers are HOT and we need to give them the best shot at survival. Luckily, most plants here are well-suited for desert weather. Because we have a mild-winter many of these shrubs will flower year round and we will have color landscaping non-stop. The roses espicially will bloom through the winter once established.

Next project with the front yard: Pavers in the entry way!

Gate Project

2009-01-25T18:28:00.009-07:00

This weekend we decided to build new gate doors for our backyard. There are two areas for gates and both were original to the house from 1984. They were at least as old as Joe! Instead of purchasing and installing a pre-built gate, Joe and Jake built the doors themselves out of Redwood 2x4's.

The old front gate (view from the sideyard)

Rear Gate which faces the alley (view from the backyard)

The Work Area

Hanging the door

We chose a redwood stain to accent the Redwood.

(below: taken by Jake)

The back of the gate was painted at night so there are no photographs of the first coat. We added the second coat on the second day, this is the final look (both taken from the backyard). If you view the door from the alley it looks the same except it has a handle, not a latch, and no beams for support.

The front gate process was the same as the back gate and it was done last. Here is what the gate looks like from the backyard.

We needed doors that were strong enough to withstand a Doberman impact. Both Max and Sadie rush to the front wall and peer over whenever they hear a noise. In case you were wondering, here is what you would see if you were looking at our house from the street.

And here is what we see....

Per the usual, Jake's dog Lilly was here to supervisor. In this photo, she has found a useful purpose for the discarded gate: Raft!

The Small Things

2009-01-24T22:04:00.004-07:00

The smallest home improvement project Joe and I did was replacing the light switch covers with decorative ones. From top to bottom: Oak, for the loft. A deep Espresso for the Master, a warm maple for the green guest room and a faux stone for the Living/dining areas. The decorative covers are noticeable and look very nice. It is something that you usually don't notice in a home, but ours enhance each of our living areas. I still need to find a set for our guest room which has an Asian theme. I'm hoping to find bamboo ones some day. Sometimes the small things can make a big difference.

Off!

2008-12-08T14:29:00.005-07:00

We have instituted a "no couch" rule which applies to the puppies since these photos were taken. Otis sheds and Max leaves dusty footprints so they are forbidden to get on the couch now. Here's to the memories....Max espicially misses the recliner, he had claimed it as his own.

Luckily for the pups, they are still allowed on the bed :)

Don't be sad baby Brady, you can alway sleep on our laps!

'Tis the Season

2008-12-07T21:10:00.002-07:00

It's Christmas time! So, our tree has come up, the stockings have been hung, and we've even used our fireplace. Toasty! Random holiday decor is also sprinkled about the house. Our nativity scene is located under the mirror (you can see the top of it above the stair railing in the picture below). I just discovered that our nativity scene has a pump in the well of the manager, so it will pour real water. I don't know how I didn't notice this before, but I've been turning it on ever since!

What would our Christmas tree be without a few Pug ornaments. Now, we just need to get a doberman ornament so Max doesn't feel left out :)

Timber!

2008-12-05T22:10:00.004-07:00

We were advised by our home inspector to remove the large tree that you see below. Something about alley rats using it to gain access to our roof (gross). So, the tree had to come down. Joe, Jake, ladder, rope and axes x2 got the job done.

After the tree came down it had to be chopped into smaller sections so we could store it until bulk trash day. And voila no more tree!

The Swamp

2008-11-19T18:57:00.008-07:00

Unfortunately I do not have a photo that shows what the swamp in our front yard looked like before project began- but I think "swamp" conjurs up a good enough image.
We had a leak in our irrigation system that was causing a lot water to pool in our front yard. The moisture and the humidity caused a swamp to form. Joe and friends had to dig up the the swampy parts of the yard to locate the damaged pipe. We discovered that tree roots had literally grown around a pipe and cracked it. The only way to remove the roots was to also remove the pipe, so we replaced it.
You can tell by the photos that it was a very messy situation. But grass has almost completely been regrown over it, (see bottom picture) so we have finally bid adieu to our swamp. Many thanks to Pete who was stellar on this project, and of course Jake who has someone managed to get roped into all of our home improvement projects. Now I know that neighbors are good for more than just sugar!

After: The swamp was right underneath the tree-- you can reference the location by looking at where the tree is in other pictures.

And again, Lilly and Max were there to supervise.

The Weekend Warriors

2008-11-16T18:10:00.009-07:00

Joe and friends have tackled a few weekend projects since we moved in. I'm updating them out of order, as the patio project was done the most recently. We attempted to seed our lawn w/ winter grass. Given what the yard looked like before, we actually did a pretty good job. But, there are still patches all around that have no grass, just soil. Since Arizona has clay soil, the dogs track in a lot of dust/dirt. So, Joe decided to place concrete pavers to extend our patio to cover the dusty portions and to expand the patio. I think it turned out very well, and thanks to Jake who was of great help through this project. You'll see photos of both him and Joe in all of our renovations. Also, thanks to Max and Lily who supervised!

After Pics!

2008-10-19T21:23:00.007-07:00

Some updated pictures of the new house:

The Living Room, our sectional fit perfectly. Notice the french style patio doors-- no more slider! We found great blinds at Linens N things to shade the windows to stop the glare on the TV. We still have to install the ceiling fan.

Dining Area. In this photo and the one above you can see the wood blinds we added. They made a huge difference. We also purchased the Chandelier from The Great Indoors.

Another updated photo of the fireplace. Photo is courtesy of Judy Arsenault.

Our Guest Bathroom. Color: Argmanac by Sherwin Williams

Foyer. Color: Water Chestnut, Glidden.
The foyer light is my favorite part, it is a Tiffany style bowl pendant from Lamps Plus.

The Loft. Color: Coconut Husk, Sherwin Williams
Shaw makes the floor, it is a wood laminate, our only new purchase was the chair/ottoman which we got from Costco Home. The Loft is Joe's domain. The computer monitor on the left is set up with Direct TV.

The Guest Bedroom. Color: Macademia, Sherwin Williams.

Our Master Bedroom. The light color is Latte by Sherwin Williams, the darker color is Coconut Husk by the same. I love the room, it is very soothing.

Contractor Day

2008-10-13T20:24:00.003-07:00

Last Thursday was the day all the contractors came. We had the bedroom and stair carpeting, the wood laminate in the loft, the patio french-style doors AND the Direct TV installer all here at the same time. Here are some photos of the process:

Wood lamainte flooring in the loft. The color is deeper then it appears in this photo. It is called Coconut Husk from Sherwin Williams. We also have wood blinds that have been installed since those photo was taken.

Our Master Bedroom. The wall to the left and the window wall are painted Coconut Husk (just like the loft). This photo is a better view of what Coconut Husk looks like. The other walls are Latte by Sherwin Williams. This was taken while the carpet pad was being installed. Joe had done some patchwork on the drywall as well.

We had the old patio slider removed-- here is a shot of the contractors installing the french-style patio doors. You can semi-see the wood blinds to the window to the left.

Naked stairs!!! Before the carpet goes in....

Horrible photo because the lense is dirty. But this is our green/dog/future nursery room. The color is called Koi Pond by Sherwin Williams.

And the carpet goes in!! We used a tighter/flatter carpet for the stairs. Anything that was carpet in the house got replaced with either of the two carpets we used or the wood laminate. As you can see from this photo, we removed the side railings that were originally on the left of the stairs as you start up. We removed another set of railings which will be visible in future photos.

I'm glad we were able to get everything installed in one day. It made the whole process go by much smoother. We are waiting on our foyer lamp to get replaced (the first one broke) and our last set of window blinds to get ordered (the first set was cut incorrectly). Once those are up, we are pretty much good to go and can finally rest! There is still stuff to hang, stuff to organize, stuff to put away, stuff to clean etc. But all in all everything has come together nicely and everything looks great. Joe and I keep talking about how perfect this house is for us. We are very happy.

Roosevelt Lake

2008-10-13T18:27:00.004-07:00

This blog isn't all about the house (or else I'd be done w/ the blog in a week or two ha!) it's about everything that is going on that our whole family isn't here to witness. So until I'm current with all of our recent events, I thought I'd back track and show you some things we have been up too.
In September, we went to Roosevelt Lake w/ friends and Max. Here is a photo of us on our drive there, overlooking the Lake. Max got his posts very wet-- we discovered that he LOVES the lake. I'm looking forward to letting him play in the lake more next summer, since this summer he was either too young or had his posts in.

Max and Brady the BFFs

2008-10-13T09:24:00.004-07:00

Max has been having a rough time at the new house. He appears to be homesick, but we aren't entirely sure. So far, there have been no accidents in the house. This is a good sign. But last night he moped around, wouldn't follow Joe or I if we left the room, and all around was a little blue.

So, we broke our own Dobe rules, and allowed Max some time to lay on the bed with us and the puppies. This cheered him up instantly! He found the perfect spot inbetween Brady and Joe. Max and Brady have a special relationship, they are truly best friends. Brady loves Otis of course, but Otis is much more of a people pug. So, this is how Max and Brady ended up. It got even better after this shot when Brady turned his head over and nuzzled into Max's neck.

Look at the size comparison if Max's paw to Brady's paw. Also, say Happy Birthday to Max, he turned 5 months yesterday!

Painting Round 1

2008-10-12T19:14:00.004-07:00

Here is a semi-after pick. It was taken after our first round of painting which involved the foyer, hallway, fireplace, living room, dining area and kitchen. We used two colors:

Toasty Gray and Water Chestnut by Glidden. Toasty Gray is on the dining area wall (w/ all the windows) and also on the drywall beam and fireplace.

If you look closely at the photo where the dining area wall meets the pantry door- you will see the color change. The two colors are actually quite different, because of the amount of light our house gets in certain places it is hard to tell they are different sometimes. I am happy about this, because had we gone w/ Water Chestnut in the entire area (it is the lighter of the two areas), there are areas where it probably would have washed out and looked white.

By the way- we ended up not doing new stair railings. We did, however, remove two sets of railings, which you will see in later pictures. The cost was quite high, more than we wanted to spend on current renovations. Honestly, the old railings aren't quite as bothersome now that the flooring has been updated. We can update them later if we so choose.

Tired

2008-10-11T22:17:00.006-07:00

We are 90% moved into our new house. It's completely livable, very cozy. We are hanging art, photos and moving furniture around. Lots of unpacking of boxes and setting things up. We are both exhausted, and the place isn't photo ready. So, here are some before pictures that give you a more complete idea of what the house looked liked before. Many of our changes have made huge differences. Namely, the paint and the flooring. We love everything even more now that our furniture has been moved in. The house feels more like "us" now and it is feeling very lived in, very fast. There aren't many transition photos, so the next set of photos I will post will probably the final pictures of everything completely done and moved in. Until then, I'll let the before pictures sink in..

View from the loft stairs, looking down.

View of foyer (to the left), the fire place, and the stairs to the loft

The master bedroom

The master bath, this was actually quite a surprise, it's been renovated and is very nice. Double shower heads!

The Living Room

The first Guestbedroom. Is the dog room now, will be the nursery in the future.

Guest Bath

Second Guest Bedroom- this is the room we are actually using as a guest bedroom

The Loft

Master Bathroom

The Kitchen

Dining Room/Kitchen (and the home inspector)

Stairs to loft, they wrap around the fireplace

Closet, converted laundry area.

Stair Transformation Part 1

2008-10-05T18:38:00.004-07:00

We are making headway with painting. The main living areas and bedrooms have all been painted. Both bathrooms and the laundry area are next, along with touch ups in all rooms. This is a photo of the before and after of our stairs. This is part one, the carpet and the railings are all being replaced as well. The loft has also been painted. I'll post photos of the finished area once everything has been installed.

Left:: Before
Right:: After, new paint. We used two tones in the main living area. Water Chestnut by Glidden (which you can see on the back stair wall) and Toasty Gray by Glidden (the fire place and beam)

The House

2008-10-01T20:59:00.004-07:00

Our first home is located in Tempe, AZ. We love the location because it is the most centralized city in the East Valley and has close access to all the major freeways we regularly access. It is close to ASU, and we are lucky to live just down the street from our good friend Jake.

The home was built in 1984 and is a single family, one story, approx 1400 sq. ft. home. One of the things that drew us to this particular home, was the fact that it does not look like the typical "cookie cutter" home. It is in an older neighborhood and has a unique look. The single-handed best feature is the loft that is accessed by a set of stairs that wraps around and behind the fireplace.

Joe and I knew that we were going to buy a three bedroom home. This meant we would have a master bedroom, a guest bedroom and an office. Once we had kids, we would have to sacrifice either the guest bedroom or the office. Because of the loft, we no longer have to make the sacrifice. Our loft is being converted into our study/office space and the extra bedroom is being used for the dogs. When we start our family, the dog room will become our nursery.

Major projects planned. These will either be completed before we move in, or after:
*recarpet all bedrooms
*new light fixtures
*new paint on all walls
*laminate wood flooring on the stairs and loft, including new railings and baluster
*wood shutters on the windows
*stone surround on the fireplace, including new wood mantel
*complete bathroom remodels
*kitchen remodel
*landscaping overhaul, including adding a pergola and patio area
*updating windows

There is lot to do, and even more that will be done. This is a fanastic starter home for us and we are very excited.

The First Post

2008-10-01T20:51:00.004-07:00

Welcome to the first post of Joe and Sydney's Blog!!!!

We have so many friends and family members that live outside of the state, who don't have the opportunity to see what we are up to on a regular basis. And if you are not a fan of facebook or myspace, it's difficult to be in the know of our lives.

So, the purpose of this blog is keep all of our family connected with what is going on in our day-to-day lives.

Joe and I just purchased our first home (yay!) so much of the beginning posts will go over the house and renovation details. Of course our puppies will also be featured. They are too cute to resist posting pictures of.

For more photos (without my blogging) you can also visits:

www.flickr.com/photos/joeandsydney

www.flickr.com/photos/maxotisbrady

We are hoping to move into the new house in mid-October. The only puppy that has been to the house so far is Max. In this post's picture, he is more curious about the camera then the house :)