Gotcha

A special Sunday post for a special little dog.

One year ago today sweet Haddie was officially added to our family!  I vividly remember seeing her picture come up on my Facebook.  Within seconds of seeing and reading about her I'd made contact with rescue organization, called Matt and scheduled a "visit".   I say "visit" because I knew that adorable little face would have a furever home with us if she and Bella got along.

Three days after seeing Haddie online, we loaded up Bella and hot footed it to northern Illinois.  When we met her, she was timid and rightly so.  Labradors are inherently boisterous and Bella was only too excited to meet a new friend!  After some playtime, a walk and quiet deliberation where Matt told me it was my decision... I decided that heck yes I wanted this girl to be mine ours! 

In the last year, we've overcome some hurdles with Miss Hadelyn Lott.  She was anxious about traffic and would dive into the ditch if a car passed us while we were running.  Haddie wasn't thrilled even riding in a vehicle, but now she gets highly offended if she doesn't get to go along!  Trips with me to the barn or horse shows are her favorite!

There are times I find myself wondering how this snuggley, well-mannered and sweet dog ended up in a high kill shelter somewhere in Kentucky?  It's a question that I'm asked a lot too.  Honestly, I try not to dwell too long on it because what's in the past is exactly that; the past.  Her present and future are far superior to what she lived prior to becoming part of our family!

Happy Gotcha Day, Haddie!

Garden Variety Thievery

Over the last several weeks we've been dealing with some thieves!  Just your average, garden variety thieves. 

The girls have been stealing snap peas straight off the trellis and aren't the least bit remorseful! 

Don't let those sweet faces fool you!  They're dirty, rotten, four pawed thieves.

"What?  My tongue didn't actually touch it!"

You might be wondering how on Earth did they decide they like snow peas?  

I'd point you in Matt's direction.  Years ago he was out in the garden and decide to throw a snow pea pod in Bella's direction... She's been salivating at them ever since! 

Obviously, Matt had to clue Haddie in on the wonder of the snow pea and now they're both hooked.  It's like crack to them!  They don't even wait for us to pick the pods off for them, it's a doggie buffet!

In addition to the snow peas, they also eat strawberries.  To be clear, they have to be ripe strawberries!  If they're not at their peak, they won't eat them.  Rotten.

Please confirm that our dogs aren't the most spoiled ones on the planet?

Nursery Reveal

Made ya look!  Ha!

So technically it IS a nursery reveal, but it's the one I help design/decorate for my sister-in-law... Not one for me or anything crazy wacky like that.

Jennifer is very much a left-brain analytical thinker.  She absolutely can be creative, but it's not her forte!  You want someone to formulate rations and get all PhD on you, she's your girl!  Back at the baby shower, I had extended an offer to come down and help trick out the nursery for the baby. 

I was really excited when she took me up on it!  So Haddie and I hightailed it down to Tennessee for a long weekend and we got to "work".  In my world, decorating and being creative is nothing like work!

Obviously, Jen had some ideas for the nursery that they put in place over the last several months.  They decided on coral paint for the walls, white wainscoting, with accents of grey and teal.  Sounds lovely, eh?! 

Armed with photos of the room and our Pinterest apps, we headed to town to shop.  We found adorable wall hangings, frames and shelf decor that would give us a nice start to our 'vision'. 

That afternoon we got crafty and made a mobile for the crib.  We used this tutorial as a guide.  Jen picked up a mobile frame at a local resale shop and we were both tickled with the end result!

Sunday morning, Kyle joined Jen and I on another shopping excursion and I'm so glad he did!  To my surprise, Kyle and I agreed that the ruffled lampshade was an absolute must...  Initially, Jen wasn't convinced.  She's come around though!

I had my work cut out bringing them both to the dark side when I said that I thought the end table would look really cool if we spray painted it and then 'dipped' the legs in gold spray paint.  Bless their hearts, I could see the doubt in their eyes!  But I think (and I got a text saying they agreed!) that it was a sound decision.

The rest of the nursery came together pretty quickly and quite well, in my humble opinion!!  You'll notice that we incorporated several of the shower decorations into the nursery as well.

 

 

I'm also proud to report that our niece, Adelyn Margaret, joined the world on Sunday, July 12!!  She weighed 6 lb, 13 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.  She's such a cutie!!

5 Tips for Running with your Dog

Hey folks, Haddie here!  For the last few months, Bella, Myla and I have been going out in the mornings and running to get our exercise.  Before I came to live with Matt and Myla, I didn't get to do anything like that!  Initially, I was a little anxious about the whole idea, but now I LOVE to go!  In the mornings, I stalk Myla to be sure she's not leaving without me...

One day last week, Bella and I got to talking and we came up with five tips that will help all pet owners who want to, but don't regularly run with their dogs! 

One: Run facing oncoming traffic with your dog on your left side.
We run down a country road that typically doesn't have a lot of cars, but it's important for you and us to run against traffic.  This way, you see the cars coming at us and are on the opposite side of the road if a car is coming from the other direction.  Myla is also really a stickler about Bella and I being on her left side.  I think she would throw herself in front of a car rather than risk us getting hurt!

Two: For our safety and yours, no earbuds or headphones.
When the three of us go running Myla never listens to music!  Ever.  This way she can hear if a car, or even a tractor, is coming up behind us long before we ever see it!

Three: Build our stamina.
Please, please don't take off with us and run for miles and miles if we aren't use to it.  Bella was use to running with Myla (she's been going since she was a puppy), but I had to start with shorter distances.  Now that we've been at it for a while, I can hang with the two of them and our long runs are about 4 miles.

Four: A good leash.
The leashes that Myla has for us are called British-style slip leads.  You can buy the exact ones we use here!  Bella's is 'Camo' and mine is 'Purple Confetti'... You're not surprised, right?  Anyway, these leads are good for taking your dog running because they provide a gentle reminder to keep up (if we think it's necessary to stop and sniff) or slow down (if we see a rabbit) while we are out and about.

Five: Make it fun!
Usually just being out with Myla is enough 'fun' for us, but there are special days when we run to the creek and GET TO SWIM!  Initially, I wasn't even sure if I could swim?  Myla was skeptical too because I heard her say to Matt "I untied my shoes in case she sank like a rock and I had to go in after her!"  I'm not the water dog that Bella is, but we both take full advantage of our time by crashing through the tall grass and tackling each other to jumping off the bank and into the water!

Are you and your human running partners?  Do they insist that you follow any specific rules?

Linking up with Amanda, Christina and Karli.  

Two in a Row, Whoa!

Watch out world!  Okay, maybe not the world... but you get the idea.

I'm breaking off the rust and getting back in the blogging game.  I've missed all my Friday link-up pals and if it wasn't for Instagram, y'all may have thought I fell of the planet! 

ONE, Life Updates

I really do have a good reason for it being so quiet on the home front.  Work has been cray cray, lots of exciting things coming up from fundraisers to summer workshops for teachers.  Throw in coordinating a golf scramble!  Have I ever mentioned that I know little to nothing about golf?  In addition to work, there's all the fun stuff that's going on personally!  We are redoing some flooring in the house, horse show season is kicking off soon and I'm hosting my sister-in-law's baby shower.  Making all the decor for the shower has been such a blast!  Last weekend I cut and sewed napkins from some scrap fabric.  I love the vintage pieces!

TWO, New Boots

Picky.  Picky is the best word to describe how I am when it comes to buying new cowboy boots.  It takes me for.ev.er. to find a pair that hits all the requirements.  And the requirements are typically a mile long.  It's because I'm a purist when it comes to my boots!  Hearts, wings, peace signs, crosses...need not apply.  I've been looking for a pair of classic, not plain, black boots for over a year and I FINALLY found a pair that fit all my requirements.  And they were on sale!

They're Justin's for inquiring minds.

THREE, The Easter Bunny

So Miss Haddie may have killed the Easter Bunny!  Oopsies.  Okay, it may not be the actual Easter Bunny, but doesn't little miss look awfully proud of her recent slaying?  

FOUR, Leadership Skills

While being told I'm "bossy" doesn't really bother me, I think "leadership skills" sounds much nicer!

FIVE, The Underdog

 Aaron Watson's newest CD, The Underdog, has been on repeat since I bought it the day it was released!  I love his traditional country sound and the messages in each of his songs.  I mean, you can't write and sing a song about the death of your child without tugging on a few heart strings!  Do yourself a favor and give it a listen!

Linking up with Five on Friday, Friday Favorites and Oh, Hey Friday!