Garden

I finally picked all of the lettuce that has been growing in my garden, I thought it was a lot, but it only made about 3 salads. Hopefully it will grow back really fast and next year I will have to remember to plant more. I also have some banana peppers and bell peppers that are just about ready to pick and my tomatoes are getting ready to explode, I can feel it. My zuke's and butternut squash are growing pretty well, too. I wish I had planted corn, maybe next year. Although we did get some from costco that is pretty good.

House Pictures

Here are a couple pictures of the house. I have a few of the inside, but since it's technically not ours yet I don't think it'd be a good idea to post those. Right now we are waiting to hear back from the sellers about the things we've asked them to take care of that were found in the inspection. Nothing major, we just want to get a couple things checked out and a couple of things repaired/replaced so it should be alright. Now it is just a matter of waiting until closing and then waiting until they move out, we have agreed to let them rent it back after closing for no more than 60 days so it could still be awhile before we actually move in. Isn't the backyard awesome for the dogs? And I can plant a big garden next year in the back corner, we're excited!

We'll take it!

A couple months ago Michael mentioned that we should buy a house and I'll admit I shot him down pretty quickly about it. I figured we had too much debt and not enough income to get a house. Then I met with Kayte's financial planner (who is now my financial planner as well) a couple months later and he mentioned that a house is a good way to increase your net worth and he thought that considering my income and debt that it was really feasible. I had just moved positions at work which resulted in a bump in my salary so I figured 'what the hell', no harm in checking. So I met with a real estate agent who was nice enough to spend an hour with me and go over some things and then she gave me a couple of names for mortgage companies. Michael and I went to the mortgage company and we were approved, but due to credit scores and such it made more sense for just myself to be on the loan. This was a week ago and today we found out that a house we had put an offer on was accepted and if everything goes according to plan we will be homeowners for real by August 26th. The house is really cute with a great yard and it will be nice to get the 8k first time homebuyer credit so we can make some changes and improvements, I already have a pretty long list. So for now we need to get inspections and all that and then wait as patiently as possible for closing day.

Fathers Day

I know, it was a while ago but we have been busy. For Fathers Day I made Michael an amazing breakfast, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and orange juice. I worked really hard on it and then went to go tell him it was ready. It was about 10am and he was still sleeping but I figured he'd be ready for breakfast. WELL, I told him I had an amazing breakfast for him and he got really grumpy and said "it's only ten am, I don't want breakfast" and rolled over to go back to sleep. Talk about a jerk! So I left the room and went to eat breakfast by myself. Lucky for him he had a change of heart and realized what a butt he had been because a minute later he came out and apologized and then we had breakfast. I say lucky for him because even though I didn't tell him this, I was going to eat what I wanted and then I was going to throw the rest away. That would have taught him! I need to work on being less spiteful... Anyways, after breakfast he got his present from the puppies. I was pretty proud of it, although he still hasn't hung it up yet. I tell the puppies it's because he doesn't love them. Won't we make great parents?! :)

More Pictures

Missy is telling Harley that the collar isn't SO bad to wear. Harley still doesn't like it.

Trying to find a way outside:

I'm trying to sleep!

Watching it rain and thunder:

Snips, clips, tags and pulls

We took all four of the puppies in to the vet on Thursday morning to get fixed. They were so nervous and scared as the vet helpers put a collar on each and took them into the back and put them in their own seperate kennel, everyone was shaking. But everyone made it out alright and we went back that afternoon to pick everyone up. In addition to getting fixed they also all got micro-chipped and some teeth pulled. Scooter lucked out and only had to get one tooth pulled but poor Harley had to get 6 pulled. So we have just been hanging out at home the last couple days while everyone recovers. The boys have it the easiest (big surprise :)), they just have a couple of stitches that will eventually dissolve since their incisions were tiny. Since Harleys incision is way bigger she got stitches that will have to be removed later. Well, like mother like daughter, I ended up taking her back to the vet the next day because she had chewed out 3 of the stitches. Missy did the same thing (twice) when we had her fixed. We even had a collar on Harley but she was still able to reach past it and get to the stitches. So now she has a couple of staples and a hard collar that she has to wear for the next two weeks until the stitches/staples come out.

This looks x-rated but Spike was dead asleep on Petree until I came over with the camera, he

likes to use the other dogs as pillows:

See, Spike isn't the only one who does it, Harley decided to flop down on Raider one afternoon: Michael had to run to the store one evening and Petree was so sad he waited by the front door until he came back. I hope he doesn't do this everytime we leave! :(

How does your garden grow?

Mine is doing pretty good, thank you to Michael for putting up a fence for me. The dogs kept getting into everything, they ate a cauliflower and brussel sprout plant before the fence got put up. And it happened while Michael was 'watching' them, he probably did it on purpose so he wouldn't have to eat the cauliflower or brussel sprouts. Don't worry, there should be plenty of brocolli and squash to make up for it. :) I have three pepper plants, a banana pepper a bell pepper and a jalepeno pepper plant, they are doing awesome, especially the banana peppers. My tomato plants are growing really well too, shouldn't be too much longer until I am over run by cherry tomatoes

And here is half of our backyard, Michael really wants to plant grass, and so do I, but not in the middle of summer. So for now we are running a weed farm, it's ugly but it helps cut down on the dust and it's hilarious to watch the dogs chase eachother and bunny hop through them.

Tiny Teeth

The puppies are almost 6 months old now, which means its almost time to get them fixed and time for them to lose their teeth. We found quite a few of Missy and Petree's teeth but until the other day we hadn't found any of the puppies teeth, they probably ate them all. The other night there was something on the floor that they all kept sniffing at, I picked it up to throw it away and it was a tiny tooth. They have almost all of their big teeth now, except for Harley who has her 'shark teeth'. Her front two teeth haven't fallen out but the new ones have grown in behind it. They'll get pulled when she gets fixed, poor girl.

New House

I finally took some pictures of the new house, just of the living room and kitchen, but the other rooms are still under construction. We still don't have any of our pictures up on the walls, what can you do?

High Roller Dogs

We have noticed that the dogs love it when we fill up their water bowl, and not just because they don't have to go thirsty anymore. Scooter especially loves the 'fountain' of water that comes out when we fill up the bowl. So what a better idea then to get them a water fountain?!

I saw the sign... I opened up my eyes and saw the sign!

So lots has been going on lately. We have moved, almost completely done. Still some small stuff and cleaning to do at the old place. Trying to get most of it finished before I leave on Tuesday to go to California for four days for work. I also moved into a new position at work, which meant my salary increased which is totally awesome, especially with the way the economy is. But for the important stuff... Kayte asked if I wanted to go yard sale-ing with her since Chad and the kids are out of town and she wanted to find some 'yard art' for her gardens. And oh, did we find some art. We went to this crazy place just north of Bend, its a cross between a yard sale, antique store and a dump. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. Anyhow, I found THE COOLEST 'yard art' anyone has ever had. And it was only $5! Chad, you can thank me later when you get home and experience Frieda first hand. After the crazy place we went to the candy store (amazing) then cruised through the Saturday market along with the hippie market across the street (complete with bongos, hula hoop lessons and some lady waving around an incense stick) and grabbed lunch at the Pita Pit. Then we went to a couple awesome stores near downtown, Kayte scored some cool wire gates for her garden and a half door that will look awesome when she's done with it. I got a really cool hummingbird feeder and these champagne glasses that have no bottom and are kept in a vase, I'll have to get a picture of them, they are pretty awesome. Enough suspense, though. Here I give you 'Frieda', the coolest yard art in the world:

We're Moving!

But before you get too excited, we're not moving out of town. We have been wanting to move for awhile and we found a place the other day that's probably less than a mile from where we're living now. It is smaller and older than the place that we're living in now, but it has a big yard and it's a house, so no more sharing a wall with the neighbors who stomp up and down the stairs at all hours of the night. Now we will be able to take the puppies outside without being swarmed by tons of little kids. AND, it's within walking distance to the Old Mill so we can walk to movies or concerts and not have to worry about parking. The place that we're in right now is really nice, but its in a neighborhood that is all duplexes really close together. And since we live in a culdesac it feels like we live in a fishbowl, when you walk outside it's like EVERYONE can see you. So we are looking forward to having a house with neighbors that aren't as close (and hopefully not as annoying) and having a little more privacy. Whoever said a good fence makes a good neighbor was onto something. And the rent is cheaper so that is always a bonus. The carpets are getting cleaned on Friday and then we'll start moving in this weekend or early next week. Oh and the back yard is big enough that I can turn a section of it into a garden, so that will be awesome too! So, who wants to help us move?

Happy Mothers Day!

I have been making comments to Michael for the past week about today being Mothers Day, and he said I wasn't getting anything because I'm not a mom. I told him I am too, we have the puppies. He said I didn't give birth to them so that means I'm not a mom; I asked him if that means that people who adopt aren't moms. Well, it worked because this is what I found when I got up this morning. :)

My flower pots.

We don't have much garden space here, so I have been wanting some pots for the front door. I found some really awesome ones at Costco, along with some cool flowers, so here they are. I also got some really cool solar lights to line the driveway and they were up for about two weeks before the jerk face neighbor kids broke one. Why were they in our yard? Jerks. They are the most annoying kids, ever.

Sunday's Special...

So one of my goals this year is to try new recipes/foods. Since it's too crazy during the week I've decided to make Sunday my 'try out a recipe' day. Today I decided to try another crock pot recipe, so here it is:

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

-4 chicken breasts (I used the frozen ones from Costco) cut up into 1" pieces, cooked. (Reserve 1/4 C of the broth chicken was cooked in)
-10 6" flour tortillas (I used whole wheat), cut into strips about 1/2" wide x 2" long
-2 medium sized onions, chopped (I didn't have regular onions so I just used two bunches of green onions, I think 2 whole onions would be a little much)
-1 tsp. olive oil
-10 3/4 oz can fat-free chicken broth
-10 3/4 oz can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
-2 4oz cans chopped mild green chilies
-1 egg
-1 c. low-fat shredded cheese

1. Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray then put the reserved chicken broth in.
2. Scatter half the tortilla strips in the bottom of the cooker.
3. Mix everything else together, except the second half of the tortillas and the cheese.
4. Layer half the chicken mix, top with second half of tortillas then put the second half of the chicken mix in.
5. Cover. Cook on low 4-6 hours or on high 3-5 hours.
6. Add cheese to the top of the dish during the last 20-30 minutes.
7. Uncover and allow casserole to rest 15 minutes (it's worked really hard)

So, typing the recipe here has made me realize I did it way different, but not on purpose. I got half way through cooking this and realized that its almost like a 'chicken enchilada' recipe that Kayte and I like. Not only did I not put the egg in (I realized I forgot it after everything was in the crock pot) but instead of the 10 3/4oz can of chicken broth, I put in a 10 3/4 oz can of cream of chicken soup. I thought it turned out alright though, even Michael liked it enough to go back for seconds. It was a bit runny, but that's probably because I forgot the egg. Although I think the can of chicken broth would make it super runny. I think I like my version better. Tasted almost just like the recipe Kayte and I use, but this was a lot easier and less time consuming.