Now it's Spanky's turn

Our little man-fox Spanky (that's what Pete calls him) isn't feeling so well today, so I'm taking him to the vet. Pete and I were gone most of the day yesterday, and when we got home, we discovered he had puked in a few places around the house, and continued to puke on and off all night. Early this morning he was still puking, and although he hasn't puked since then, he isn't eating at all and looks miserable.

So now we'll "go see doctor," as I like to tell the animals when they don't know what's going on. They know what this phrase means, and I don't think Spanky is happy about it, but hopefully he'll get his tummy checked and will be feeling better soon.

And yeah, if you're keeping count, that's three pets in the last month that have been sick. The only one who's escaped this fate so far is Max. Hopefully he stays healthy, and this little curse of illness upon the Hoogestraat household ends with Spanky.

Poopy girl

Poor Adora's been having some digestive issues lately. She's her same ol' spunky self, but her tummy isn't feeling all that great. She ate some steak bones on Friday night, and hasn't been eating the same since then. Hopefully things will stabilize, and she'll be back to her usual food-loving self.

That's why I love him

Pete and me at Fogo de Chão last year, where we had also dined on our first date.



Five years ago today, Pete and I met. It has been a wonderful time since, and through all our ups and downs, we've been very happy together.

Tonight we were sitting around the tv as we often do most nights, watching something on the Military Channel (his choice), covered in snoozing cats and dogs, and our bellies full of McDonald's cheeseburgers. Pete suddenly looked at me and said, "Hey! Let's both concentrate on this pencil here and see if we can make it move by telekenisis." He had an eager look on his face, and carefully set the pencil on top of one of his car books, ready to concentrate.

I started laughing, and said, "See? That's why I love you! Because a normal night for us is watching tv, surrounded by animals, and spending our free time trying to make a pencil move. This is our lives together." And I laughed some more.

Pete smiled and seemed startled by this, but very pleased, and we eventually went on to throwing our brain waves at the pencil (it wiggled, but that was all). Good times.

I'm happy to have known you these five good, long years, my love.

Me and the motley crew

I'm not sure why, but lately the pets seem to be swarming around me, more so than usual. They like to lay all over my expanding belly, or snuggle next to me on the couch. I don't know if they sense that there's another little life present in the house, but I'm not complaining about the increased affection (for the most part, lol).

Last night, three of them—Adora, Spanky, and Dollie—spontaneously gathered around me on the couch and hovered around me for a good five minutes. It was so odd and funny that I quickly snapped a photo with my Mac (I was working on my laptop). They were being goofy and rubbing against me and each other, and even Baby Jack was wiggling in sympathy.

Hunkerin' down

There have been rather bad storms moving through the area today, and another one is on it's way now (the one that's almost covering DeKalb on the map). So I'm trying to stay off the computer and get chores done for the moment. If a tornado comes, it'll be a comedy of errors trying to seek shelter with the animals. I can't imagine how I'll get the two dogs and two cats to squeeze into our first floor bathroom and sit still, while chunks of my house get ripped away by the gale-force winds....

Dollie, come home

Our spunky and chunky little cat Dollie (the one in the banner for this blog) has run away, and I'm very sad about it. Last time I saw her was yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m., when the dogs dashed outside to chase her up into a tree. She later came down and ran off, and I haven't seen her since. She's very affectionate and friendly, so I worry someone's taken her in without checking to see who she belongs to (she's microchipped but lost her collar). And she's not an "outdoor" cat, but prefers to stay inside, except for the occasional trips out on the patio or up a nearby tree. I've been walking from open doors to open windows in the house, calling her over and over, with Max at my side, "helping" me look.



Anyhow, I hope she comes home soon. It's rainy and cold outside, and everyone seems lonely without her.

Bad Dodo!

This is the scene I came home to the other day. Adora (a.k.a. Dodo) had gotten upset that I was gone for a few hours and decided to chew up one of the living room pillows. Lucky for her it was only a cheap $3 pillow from IKEA...and she is lucky that I'm such a patient and forgiving mama.



Bad Dodo.

A pretty (and hopefully secure) way to hide a few remotes

Hi, my name is Chris, and I have a dog named Adora that eats things that she shouldn't. I admit it. She eats lots of things. Things like remote controls, shoes, cordless phones...things you personally don't think are all that tasty, but that she enjoys destroying when she's home alone (with Spanky, Max, and Dollie, that is).



And it doesn't stop there. Adora is a master at opening bottles and packages and getting at food, especially when I take Spanky and her in the car with me, which is quite often. Not even a bottle of water is safe. She will take the bottle of water, carefully unscrew the cap (even if it hasn't been opened), and drink the water from the bottle without spilling very much, if anything. This happens almost daily when I take Adora with me in the car, so I've had to hide water bottles under the seats, but she still gets to things down there. The only safe place to hide stuff is under a shelf in the back of my CRV, where Adora can't get to things. If I don't hide stuff back there, I pay. I have caught her opening yogurt containers, bananas, chili dog containers, boxes of candy, candy bars, bags of chips.... Adora has even taken an entire cup of iced coffee and drank it, with barely a drop spilled, while I ran into Target.



Anyhow, I digress. I was at Michael's on Monday and found some pretty paper boxes of different shapes and sizes. I loved a particular bird box, but as always, I try to think of what practical use such an item will serve in my house.



I hadn't thought of one until the following day, when I realized the box could easily fit both our cable and DVD remote controls.



The previous cable remote had been killed by Adora in the past, and Pete and I always worry she'll set her sights on the humble replacement remote one of these days. But now I have a pretty box to hide both remotes from her ravenous ways.



Although I'm not so sure that she can't open the box and get at them. She has opened storage bins in my car to get at candy before. Well, I guess we'll give it a try and see what happens.



They always look so innocent, don't they?

Dollie vs. a bowl of cherries

If you are a photographer and have pets like me, you know that you often get "helpers" that "assist" you in your photo shoots. They tend to move stuff around for you or pose in your shot to help you focus. Sometimes the ensuing photograph is better than the intended original, but often you get a blurry mess. Other times you get something interesting or even worthy of saving. In any event, you have a laugh at your furry children's antics.



Such was the case this past weekend. I had bought some cherries at Target and decided, on a whim, to take some photos. And since our dining room floor is still unpainted, I thought the white bowl and red cherries would look pretty with the blue-green-brown floorboards in the background. I set the bowl on the floor and started to take pictures, snapping off a few somewhat blurry but colorful images.



I was just getting into it when a furry head popped into view in front of my camera lens. Dollie (the cat in my blog banner, for those of you new to this blog) had somehow caught wind of this impromptu photo session and decided to help herself to one of the cherries. She picked one out of the bowl with her little monkey paw (I swear she has opposable thumbs) and started to play a game of cherry soccer, Dollie-style. I just sat back and watched her for a while, snapping a few pix but mainly enjoying this burst of spontaneous game play. She played with her little "ball" for quite some time, until it was either squishy from being batted about or eaten by one of the dogs (Adora likes cherries, we've discovered).



Later on, the bowl of cherries was sitting on our enamel table in the kitchen, and Dollie decided to play some more. She hopped up on the table, took another cherry out of the bowl, jumped onto the floor with it in her paw, and started playing soccer again. I had to laugh and watch her again, since she obviously was having fun and was oblivious to the world around her as she played. Dollie partially hid inside a plastic bag at one point, using it as a sort of blind, and repeatedly pounced on the hapless cherry. Another tactic was to send the cherry flying under and around the construction equipment in the dining room, whereafter she'd chase the little missile and intercept it in different ways. This game play is not unusual behavior for Dollie, but it always surprises and delights me. Max is a much calmer, more relaxed cat, and very rarely plays at all, but Dollie is full of mischeif.



What a weird, weird cat.

Exhausted Pete

This is what my hubby looks like after a hard day of work, like he was on Wednesday night. Sprawled out on the couch, belly full of dinner, muttering and moaning in his sleep (he does that a lot), safety glasses tossed aside (although often on his head), and hair molded into a "frozen explosion" (that's what I call it cuz it's stiff and doesn't move). Often times the animals will walk by every so often, sniff him, and move on. Very cute.

Leaning mirror

I was on the prowl for some sort of decorative mirror, but nothing too heavy and dark. So when I was strolling through JCPenney a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a group of large mirrors that were 50% off (!). Most had ornate dark brown or black frames, and weren't quite what I was looking for.



But, one was painted a shimmery gold color with robin's egg blue accents (yes, I'm drawn to that color lately). I liked that it was brighter and less heavy looking than other mirrors, and it also mimicked the gold drapes in my living room. I called Pete from the store and he said to go for it. When it was rung up, the original $200 was knocked down to $100, then minus another $15 for some sort of random discount I was unaware of, then another $28 was subtracted with the aid of a gift card. End result? A large and lovely mirror that was about $66.



At the moment it's leaning against the living room wall, but I may move it to another wall in the room or have it mounted. I love the concept of mirrors and/or art leaning against the wall, or sitting on a desk, versus mounted traditionally. And I do like where it's at right now, because it reminds me of the dog staring in the mirror in the Petco commercial. Our dogs and cats often stop and look at themselves in the mirror, or watch other things going on in the room via its shiny surface.

Target storage ottoman vs. Crate and Barrel ottoman

I finally found a leather(ette) storage ottoman for Pete's music room. I had seen this one at Target for $79, but hesitated, thinking I'd find something cheaper.



Anyhow, I ended up getting this Crate & Barrel ottoman at the C & B Outlet for a steal. It was originally $149 and marked down to $59, listed as "worn" on the sale tag, but I can't find any wear. But, I don't think it's quite what Pete had in mind.

So when I saw the Target ottoman on sale for $59, I snatched one up.



And look, it's got storage for Pete's music books!



The C & B ottoman can go in our living room for extra seating, for which we are always lacking. And we live in a shoebox, so small and portable is good.



I would love to buy an actual nice, leather ottoman, but a) they're too much money for us to spend right now, and b) it would be mauled and nicked and stained from all our animals and visitors. A friend of mine once said he spends extra money on quality things, so that they last a long time and don't look crappy. But I have trouble spending money on nice furniture because it all gets so beat up in this house. If it's something I can literally lock away, like my china and vintage tea cup collection, then fine, I'll spend some extra cash. But I don't want to have a house of museum-quality furniture that I'm still paying for long after it's beat to death.

It's Tele-Serve Tuesday

With all the cleaning and decorating going on, and the pretty weather to distract me, I tend to forget that I'm unemployed at the moment. Until Tele-Serve Tuesdays, that is. Those are the days, every two weeks, when I have to call in to IDES and claim unemployment. I get nervous every time and I always second guess my answers. (Did I press "1" for yes or "3" for no? And why 1 and 3? Why not 1 and 2?) I worry that I have inadvertently given the wrong information and have shot to hell my unemployment claim. I've already had trouble setting up direct deposit, and never got my first Statement of Certification letter from IDES (it's floating around somewhere out there).

So the flurry of decorating posts and jokes about the pets are all in good fun, and I'm really totally excited to be working on my house. But if you look under the surface, you'll see a woman who's trying to avoid thinking about her current reality.

Weekend guests

Izzy and her friend Abby stayed overnight on Saturday and into the day on Sunday. They are the first official guests we've had in our house since the spare bedroom has been semi-finished. Matt has been here before, but that was to either house-sit or to just crash on the couch. It was kinda weird but cool to cook for them, give them blankets and linens, and entertain them. Hopefully we'll have more people staying over in the future.



Dollie decided it was her duty to be the official guest companion, and made herself a little bed in a basket tray table designed for drinks, not cats. (It was a cheapy Ikea plastic neon green tray table, but I swapped out the tray for a white basket I happened to have.) Dollie seemed to be in heaven, having the girls fawn all over her, tuck her in at night, and feed her scraps.



Glad to know our guests will never lack for (annoying) company.

Red Stripe + Gyro = Two Hungry Dogs

Not so much hungry for the Red Stripe, although I'm sure Adora would give it a try. (Note the scrubbed wooden kitchen floor they're standing on. I only have like 20 square feet of intense scrubbing to go. Sigh....)

This is what it's like for me when I eat a meal at home ALL THE TIME. I'm always surrounded by the animals salivating and begging. Even the cats join in.

Dutch door

I wonder if I can install a Dutch door in place of our front door? This seems like a great idea, especially since it would contain all the little beasties we have who like to run away. We don't have a back door, just a sliding door, so I'd have to swap the front door instead. And I would need to screen in the top part, or else risk being eaten alive by mosquitos.

(from myhomeideas.com)

Adora—future model?

I'm reminded of the painting "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" for some reason...

Welcome, Mr. T!

Izzy and I cleaned out the fish tank yesterday, and let me tell you, it sorely needed it! And when we were done, we introduced Kayo to Mr. T, my new fish. Izzy named him Mr. T, which is short for Mr. Tangerine (we're assuming he's a he). The name comes from the weird orange markings on him, something I've never seen on a Black Moor before (he has orange around his eyes, tail, and belly).

So far Kayo seems to like Mr. T, and Mr. T seems very enthusiastic and happy to be in a gigantic tank with lots of food. I'm hoping he can reach the same size as Scrappy did, and be just as happy too.

To each his—or her—own

Even if that means you like to sleep in a potted plant.

A typical week night routine

Pete snuggling with the doggies—they love their papa and fight over the prime spot on him, near his face



Watching tv shows about Hitler or guns or tanks or murderers (and What Not to Wear, if Chris gets control of the remote)—here a show about Hitler is the show of choice



Chris blogging, Facebooking, or working out (mostly doing the former to avoid the latter)—note the kitty paw prints all over the laptop keyboard



That's all I got today. Feeling a bit tired, but upbeat. Happy Friday!