After.......

Wow!!  What a difference!!  The gardeners came over while I was at work this Saturday and worked $hit out in the backyard!  Take a peek......

Pretty awesome, no?  Is it just me or does Milo look super lumpy in this photo?  I came home from work and was sooooo excited!  About the yard anyway..... Then I saw the 5 ginormous piles of dog puke throughout my pristine new-to-me house......yeah, Milo had "an eventful day" while I was at work.  Poor boy :(  I have been feeding him dog food by the name Avoderm for a number of months, and he seems to like all the flavors I've given him so far.  Except for the "Senior Dog" formula I introduced on Saturday morning.  Note to self: do not give Milo food he's never tried before on a day you aren't going to be home.  Bad idea.  Lesson learned.  Oh, and did I mention the puddle of dog pee I found as well?  Three weeks in the house and Milo hadn't broken his seal yet.....until Saturday.  Again, poor boy :( 

So I busted out my Haan Steam Cleaner.  I love this thing.  It cleans and sanitizes any sealed surface without the use of any chemicals.  Just water.  It's the power of steam people.  After cleaning up Milo's various bodily fluids, I ran the Haan over the floors, now they are like new.  I highly recommend this little gadget.

Why does Frank looks so peeved in the photo?  Well, if you know Frank, you know that he's kind of a dick most of the time.  He's ornery, doesn't really like to be touched much, and sure as hell does not like to have his territory threatened by a little, white, yappy dog named Bailey.  I've officially had to separate them.  It has been stressful on everyone, especially Frank and I.  I don't think Bailey could give a flying frack about Frank's nerves.  Frank has been letting me know in not-so-subtle ways (read: peeing on my bedspread) that he is unhappy with the house guest.  Since I've made my office in to Frank's sanctuary a few days ago, he seems a lot happier.  He has some windows to look out, his perch to sit and sleep on, and a banquet of food options provided by his guilty feeling owner.  Wet food, dry food, Bonito flakes, cat nip, you name it, he has access to it.  Oh, and don't forget the three fleece blanket beds on the floor.  He's living the good life for the next few weeks.  Sure, I'm positive he'd prefer the run of the entire house, but for now I think he'll make due without having to run in to Bailey.  And my nerves will stay in tact knowing Bailey can't corner Frank under the bed.  And of course the no-cat-pee-where-I-sleep is a positive.

She looks so innocent.....don't let her fool you...... :)  

Before.......

So my back yard is already stressing me out.  The previous homeowners were total green thumbs and did a great job of keeping the plants in check in the back yard.  Me?  Not so much a green thumb, and definitely not doing a good job of keeping the plants in check.  I'd say I'm not doing any kind of job in regards to the back yard thus far :(  In an effort to not let all the produce and foliage back there rot away and attract vermin, I'm having some gardeners come over this weekend to clear out the joint.  Here is a before shot:

I'll post an after shot in a few days.  I'm having them remove all the produce because I can't even come close to consuming the amount of vegetables out there.  I've already managed to let Milo defecate on pretty much everything, so actually eating anything at this point would probably put me in the hospital.  It's like a jungle out there, no joke.  Milo has gotten lost out there in the middle of the night numerous times.  I'll let him out to pee at like 2am, and after not hearing him for 10 or so minutes I'll peek outside only to find him lodged between some enormous plant I can't identify and the fence. 

I'm looking forward to planting some grass, or laying down sod, in the spring.  Also putting in a deck for relaxing, hanging out, BBQing, all the fun stuff that goes along with decent PNW weather.  I'd love suggestions for some plants I can put back there that are hearty and fragrant, but don't require a ton of work on my part.     

Guess who?

Yep, I have another member of the animal kingdom squatting at my house for a span of time.  Apparently I am the go-to sucker for taking care of other people's animals while they leave town for an extended period of time.  My parents are visiting family on the east coast for a month, and I'm taking care of their dog, Bailey while they are gone.

She's a Westie, and she's adorable.  But a little more high energy than Frank, Milo, and I are used to.  We're adjusting though :)  After she runs around the house for a bit, she calms down pretty quick.  Luckily she loves her crate, so I put her to bed a little earlier than the rest of us, and she doesn't make a peep until morning.

Milo has been exhausted since she arrived, less than 24 hours ago I might add, it doesn't take much excitement for him to curl up for a nap.  But he seems pretty excited to have another canine pal around.  I was watching them interact this morning out in the yard, and both of their tails were wagging.  If anything, he's gotten a little more lovey towards me, wanting to lay *rightnext* to me on the couch.  Its adorable actually.  He hasn't jumped up on the couch in months, but yesterday he did it twice.  Bailey has a slight advantage over Milo since she is much smaller, and much more agile.  She can pretty much jump up on anything.  Like right now, she's curled up on my desk, next to my laptop.  And Milo is snoozing at my feet.  I'm in doggy heaven.  If you're counting, that is 2 dogs and 3 cats that I currently have at my house :)

In other news, I have done something I never thought I would do.....I joined Twitter.  Yeah, I thought my social networking had maxxed out with Facebook, but I guess not.  If you'd like to follow me, let me know and I'll send you my username.  And if you are on Twitter, and I'm not already following you, let me know your username.  Any recommendations for other Twitters I should be following?  If you say Justin Bieber I'll disown you as a friend.       

off the grid......

Wow, the past few weeks have flown by!!  I'm all moved in to the new place, and have been totally preoccupied with unpacking and getting things settled.  Yesterday I made the usual post-move trip to Target, Ikea, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  It was a FULL day to say the least.  I bought a blue dresser for my bedroom from Ikea, and I'm pretty darn stoked about it.  I love some color, and I think the blue dresser is going to play off the golden yellow walls perfectly.  Of course I'll post pictures once everything is all settled.  Oh, and I have to figure out how I'm going to put together that monstrosity of a dresser!!  Tonight Kyle and Cyn came over and helped me put up some pictures.  It definitely feels more like home with some art work on the walls!

What else have I been up to besides moving / unpacking / settling in to the new place?  Playing with my iPhone, its pretty much like crack folks, seriously.  I currently have eight "Words with Friends" games going right now, it is addicting to say the least.  Enjoying the camera applications.  Taking pictures of Frank and Milo settling in to their new space. 

Frank has found a few new favorite spots, including this one..... the back of the couch cushion in the living room.  He can check out what is going on in the front yard, survey his kingdom, so to speak.  Good lookin' cat, no?  I think so. 

Milo has found my feather bed, and decided to make it his own..... little rascal!!  Well, I was due for a new one, and I will definitely need a new one now that his basset stank is all up in those down feathers!!  I found a fun, colorful cover for the feather bed at Ikea yesterday so it looks a little better than a dirty old pile of human-bed-gone-dog-bed on the dining room floor.  Milo probably doesn't care what it looks like, he's just happy to fall asleep in luxury.

Another one of Milo's favorite spots?  The cold tile floor of the bathroom.  I am in love with the bathroom tiles, they are original to the house, which was built in 1942.  Milo loves them too.

Last, but not least, when it is sunny out, Milo likes to kick it on the back porch.  He isn't much for going out in the rain, so the past few days he's spent mostly inside.  But when the sun is shining, he likes to sniff around the yard for as long as he can before he poops out and needs a nap (read: about 15 to 20 minutes). 

As you can tell, I'm still obsessed with the ShakeIt iPhone app.  So fun!!