Finally!

(I'm starting this post with the warning that my husband is out of town and doesn't know yet that I've done this. So don't tell him. I plan on just surprising him when he gets home on Friday. I think he may hate my surprises, but I'll do anything to get rid of that THING below!)

When my dear, dear husband moved into his first apartment, he purchased this entertainment center:

...which has been taking over my bedroom and causing me nightmares for over 6 years.

I, um, made some changes last night with my recent Craigslist score!

From this:

To this:

Total cost? $40, a birthday gift (the lamp from Four Hands), and a quick drive to Dripping Springs. I prefer armoires, but I read recently that in 2009 TVs are an accepted part of a room and to hide them in an armoire is outdated and a waste of space. Whatever, I disagree, but this is cheaper and I have the okay from an MSN designer ;-)

However, this corner still looks weird. The dog bed can go (Bandit sleeps in the closet and Kimber sleeps on her back leaned up against my side of the bed). I'm also thinking that is too much curtain. I'm going to take it back to just one panel, since there is a parallel window on the other side of the room - they'd still open "correctly" (i.e. aways from each other). I know I need some kind of art work for the walls. I found this picture in a closet:

But then I realized this picture was on the adjoining wall:

(For the record, that is a queen sized bed, we don't sleep on a twin like it looks. That is just a really big picture and 2 really big dogs!) Anywho, those pictures are too much alike and the first one is much smaller and gots to go. I can't decide if I should move the lamp to the corner where the dog bed is, or if I should put a plant there. And what on earth am I going to put on the wall above the TV?! Decisions, decisions.

I do know for sure that the small, matching TV stand is a huge improvement over the big-black Walmart (that he swears he bought at Sears) monstrosity!

My First Ma'am

Obviously, people who encounter me in a professional situation call me ma'am occasionally, especially when I'm the customer and they are the servicer (Chris, that's not that funny). However, I've never been called "Ma'am" by a random stranger ... until last night.

Somehow I got talked into going to Midnight Rodeo (a mistake I won't make again), and as usual it was filled with people just a few years younger than me ;-) This kid bumped into me, as happens in crowded bars, and turned around to say, "I'm so sorry, Ma'am - are you okay?"

:::I will not cry - Sara, be nice, he doesn't have a clue what he just did and is just trying to be polite::: "Yes thank you, I'm fine" ... walk away, burst into tears.

Last weekend we went to Prauge. The door guy spent much time examining the girls' IDs in front of us and seriously didn't even look at mine - just waved me by like, "Oh you are an old hag, I don't need to see that." Then a kid calls me Ma'am?!?!?!?!

Back to my normally scheduled anti-wrinkle-cream-applications.



One way out is all you're ever gonna get
From those who'll hand it out don't never let it upset you
Cos they'll put words into our mouths they're making us feel so ashamed

Making us take the blame
Making us cold in the night
Making us question my heart and soul
And I think that it's not quite right

Hey! stay young and invincible
Cos we know just what we are
And come what may we're unstoppable
Cos we know just what we are

Feed your head with all the things you need
When you're hungry
Stay in bed and sleep all day as long as it's Sunday
Cos they'll put words into your mouth they're making you feel so ashamed

Bandit as a Puppy!

I've been so sad the last few days. I found out that the cat we've had since I was 13, Skeeter, died on Sunday :-( He lived a long, wonderful life. The vets didn't expect him to live past 8 or 9 years old because he had a pretty bad heart murmer. However, he lived to 12 and came home to my family for a peaceful death. No matter how prepared I thought I was, I just wasn't and have been so sad.

Emily and Skeeter ("her" cat):

(Uuh yes, he was also an extremely large cat. And Emily is a very small girl :-)


So today I got the most wonderful surprise email! No April Fool's, I received an email of Bandit as a puppy! We adopted him at 2 1/2 years old and I never expected to see a picture like this. It was such wonderful timing, it really made me feel so good and made my whole day (week? year? life?) a little bit brighter! A woman who adopted two of Bandit's littermates sent it to me out of the blue, and I'm just beyond giddy about this!

Bandit as a puppy:






His whole litter:

All grown up -

Bandit:

Desperado and Rustler were both adopted by a woman in Dallas that I keep in touch with. She is the one who sent me the pictures today!

Desperado:

Rustler: