My Two Loves

When studying gets crazy for school (which this week it is) I just look up from the books and see Joe and Stella and I am reminded how sweet my life is.

Joe's DIY Project

For Joe's birthday he wanted a map to put up in his future office that he can pin all the places he's been. I picked him up a vintage map that ended up being a little too out of date and a little smaller than he was thinking so I returned that and he ordered himself a new one. He actually got the same poster I used for his wedding present and had it laminated. Sunday he went out and got his supplies to mount it on a piece of foam board.

Of course Stella had to help him out...

Here's the adhesive Joe picked up from Menard's. Note to future projects...spray this outside. It sure is stinky and probably not the best fumes to breathe in.

Joe picked up a tri-fold foam board (the kind you'd use for a presentation) and taped the flaps so they wouldn't move around.

Then he went to town spraying...

I'd show you a picture of him laying down the map but I had to help so no pictures. Instead, I'll give you one of Stella straddling me. Yep, she likes to lay on top of me...a lot.

While we let the map set, Joe grilled us up some delicious burgers. Joe made himself a juicy lucy with cheese packed inside of the burger.

After, he pulled out his box cutter and trimmed down the edges.

Oh hi Stella!

All done! Joe went straight to pinning all the places he's been. He's very proud of his map:)

A Stella Update

Well, today marks one week since we picked up our little Stella and she turned three months old yesterday. We've had our ups and downs with her - peeing on the carpet and in kennel, biting and trying to jump up on our furniture but overall we couldn't have asked for a better dog. She is so calm and she still loves to lay on top of you to cuddle. Joe and I try to get her going and play with her but she loses interest pretty fast although we have made progress teaching her how to fetch, come and drop the ball. The magic is in the treats:) On Saturday, Andrea, Sadie and the boys came over to meet her and while Brody and Devin jumped and climbed on Joe, Stella just sat there watching them. She didn't bark or get in on the action on herself.

Joe and I couldn't agree more that we picked the best dog in the world. I am so glad we have her in our lives and although she is a HUGE distraction when it comes to studying, getting things done around the house and all the other things in our busy lives that we need to get done, we know once we're past the "puppy" phase she is going to be such a loyal and good dog. And I can't wait until she sleeps through the night because it kind of stinks getting up and going out into the cold night at 3am:) This morning I'm taking her to the vet to get her first shots and a thorough check up. Hoping it goes well!!

It's In!

Joe finally installed my Christmas present over the weekend and it works wonders! Yep, with our humidifier installed we no longer get shocked every time we turn on a light or simply walk around the house haha! The house feels warmer and it just feels better overall. Why did we go so long without?!

I didn't get start to finish pictures but I took some inbetween ones. Joe said it took him about an hour and a half to figure out everything he needed from Menards since the installation guide sheet was only ONE page. Then Friday night a fuse accidently blew leaving us with no heat, plus we had cold water for a bit because he forgot he had to shut off the gas to the hot water heater. Other than that it went pretty smoothly! I love having a handy husband! He's installed a water heater, wired the basement and garage and now you can add the humidifer to the list.

There it is!!

The fuse! Without that little chip we would have no heat.

So while my Chicken Pot Pie sat in the oven he ran to Mendards, Lowes and finally Auto Zone before finding the fuse we needed so we could have heat again!

I wish I would have documented the project better but that's all I have. All I can say is...it was a pretty nice Christmas "present" to receive. :)

One more Christmas DIY Project

Okay, I know Christmas was almost a month ago but we finally brought our tree out last night. Lady Balsam has been sitting, naked undecorated in our house since the day after Christmas but we just haven't had the time to take her out. Or we have just been really lazy. And truthfully it's probably the latter.

I did find a neat way to keep her memory alive though thanks to my favorite inspiration website Pinterest. I had Joe use his chainsaw to cut me off a piece of her trunk.

Then I took a permanent marker and went to work. It says "Our 1st Christmas Tree 2011"

And of course I put her name on the other side, "Lady Balsam"

I still need Joe to drill a little hole at the top so I can put a red ribbon through it to hang on our tree next year but it's already packed away in the Christmas box and put back downstairs. I'll get to that later:) Now, we'll always have a piece of our first Christmas tree together...literally.

Introducing....Stella

Stella is a yellow lab and will be 13 weeks this Friday! She's pretty mellow for a puppy and loves to cuddle. This morning I took a little nap with her on the kitchen floor while she laid next to me. We're still figuring each other out but we love her already!

We drove about two hours last night to pick her up (one way). She had several other brothers and sisters but Joe chose her because she was not hyper like the rest of them. Her Mom is a smaller black lab and very calm and her dad is a yellow lab who likes to go hunting.

Last night I was up about every two hours with her to take her out. We had a few accidents in the house before we went to bed so she's kitchen bound until she cleans up her act:)

Oh...and she has big paws. Paws like a lion so look out!

Yep, she's our little "baby" and I cried like a baby when we were pulling out of the driveway. She was shaking and I felt bad that we were taking her away from their siblings and parents. I did the same thing when my parents brought home Cruiser. I guess it's just a natural thing for me to do when I get a puppy.

The first thing we did with her last night (besides take her to the bathroom) was give her a bath. She had been in a kennel outside and you should have seen the dirt that came off her. When we started rinsing her off we thought she was starting to go number two because the water turned a dirty brown color. Thankfully it was just the dirt coming off her. Now she smells good and her coat is very soft!

We are so excited to have Stella part of our family! We can't wait to bring her to the parks and lake and have play dates with our other puppy parents! I can assure you you'll be seeing a lot of Stella in the future. As for me...hopefully I can slip away as she naps to try and study! She doesn't let me out of her sight!!

RedBull Crashed Ice

Saturday night RedBull Crashed Ice was in Saint Paul. Well, they had been there since Thursday doing preliminary races and such but Saturday night was the finals along with 80,000 spectators! It was nuts! Joe and I had plans to meet up with our friends Anna and Eric, however, no one's cell phones were working and we never actually met up at the race. Thankfully we were able to meet up with them after to catch up a bit.

Joe and I made our way onto the side of a hill to get a better view of the races. Bascially, four racers would head down an ice path on skates with not much protection besides a hockey helment, gloves and if they were smart some padding. They started up near the cathedral and made their way down the hill to the finish line. I don't think I would ever have the guts to do it but it was sure fun to watch!

Taking the corner fast!!!

Found a flag on the ground so it became my new prop:)

The hill we were standing on eventually became a slide for everyone. We had found some grass and brush to stand on to keep us from sliding back down.

Then they sent down the U of M, UMD and St. Cloud State mascots. UMD BULLDOG WON!!!!

It was such a great way to spend our Saturday night:) I also have a big announcement I'll probably be sharing with you tomorrow if all goes as planned... stay tuned!