This is us embarking on our journey as a married couple. Along for the ride is our delightfully crazy, smart n' sassy, darling yellow lab, Austin. We have a hectic life but we are crazy about each other.
First, let us begin by clarifying that the title of this post is not “How to Make a Quilt”, it is simply “How I Made a Quilt”. Implying, of course, that I am no expert on such matters and that my word should not be taken as such. I decided to go with a simple pattern and I selected four coordinating colors. I splurged and purchased a rotary cutter and mat for about $17 and it was worth every penny.
I cut my squares at five inches and laid them out across my living room floor.
And I began to sew…
I stitched the squares into rows and then when I would get about four or five rows together I would sew the rows together. This is the easy part; the hard part will be next!
Somewhere along the way in our relationship Hubbs and I have each carved our own individual niches when it comes to household chores and tasks. For example, he has taken on the duties of mowing the grass, cleaning the pool and the general fixing of broken things. My departments are of the cooking and cleaning variety. I admit these divisions do have a gender-biased semblance to them but please allow me to assure you, that is not the case. I have assisted him cutting down trees and replacing the pool pump likewise I have consulted him on everything from mending a hem to battling hard water stains.
One sector that falls solely in his court though is that of electronics. If it plugs in or has a keyboard it is pretty much his domain and I tread very lightly. I have to hand it to him; my husband is awesome at electronics, I on the other hand have problems programming an atomic clock--seriously! I am chastised for touching the monitors and am frowned upon for eating next to my computer. Very recently I went almost a week with dismal internet access because he got a new router and the wireless access (which my computer uses) was not so hot but I didn’t say anything to him because A.) I thought he knew (because reading my mind is his department too!) and B.) I thought I was just doing something wrong. On a very rare occasion I may be summoned to give an opinion on a particular matter, one decision in particular dealt with our laptop. My dear husband asked me what color I would like it to be and I chose red…I was promptly vetoed (apparently it is a “girl” color).
So then, you may wonder how in the world this is not only
possible, but acceptable…
The laptop is so precariously close to the food prep "business", the butter, the flour and do not even get me started on the wine glass. I have found that our blue laptop is VERY handy for bringing those recipes I find on the internet right into the kitchen. I just started doing it one day and he has never, ever said a word about it. I feel like I am getting away with murder EVERY SINGLE TIME! I suppose it is a simple explanation though, he benefits by getting to eat all the scrumptious recipes I love to try and he knows in his heart of hearts that I am very careful, not to mention the ledge helps to keep it out of the way while still being at eye-level. I digress though, there is one electrical gadget I will one day own and color is NOT an option…
A few weeks ago I began to notice an issue. It was no big deal at first, just a stray gnat here and there but the frequency began to increase. I declared war. I cleaned the entire kitchen top to bottom and then cleaned out the pantry and then the fridge. We poured bleach down the drain and then we discovered the garbage disposal…after seeing that thing up close I was certain that this was where the problem was coming from. In fact I still get a funny feeling in the back of my throat when I think of it. But the problem persisted, not only in the kitchen, but the bathrooms and the office also. I noticed the problem at my Dad’s house as well but I didn’t give it much thought, it was when I mentioned it to my dear friend L. that I came upon a revelation. L. has the cleanest house I have ever entered and believe me, it is always clean, so when she mentioned that SHE had a gnat problem I knew it was not just me. My house, after all, was clean-and still is I might add. We do not keep dirty dishes sitting in the sink, Hubbs takes out our trash regularly and I did not find any moldy potatoes in my pantry. So I turned to Google and found on numerous websites that they are attracted to apple cider vinegar and you use it to trap them. Also pouring ammonia down all the drains will kill any eggs. It can take up to three weeks but I am committed to eradicating them. God bless homemoanership!!!
It was early, I could “feel” it with every soft breath I inhaled. My eyes lightly fluttered open and then fell shut gently taking my entire head deeper into my pillow. It was one of those perfect moments, I was just scarcely stirring awake, yet was not jolted or startled, and I was mere moments away from falling back into my deep slumber. On the second sleepy blink of my peepers I could barely see daylight behind the dark curtains, it could not have been past 7:30. I still had several wonderful hours of sleep ahead of me and I was about to commence. My bed had completely engulfed me and my body was tangled gloriously in my covers. The room was cool and the fan felt good. As my vision gradually focused through the haze of my eye lashes I spotted the most perfect addition to my moment of bliss. Mere inches from my head lay my favorite pillow. This pillow is a cloud, soft, yet supportive, it is literally perfection every single time I lay my head on it. There are no less than six pillows on our bed so, in order to be able to spot my favorite pillow in heavy-eyed situations such as now, I always have a contrasting pillow case on it. Genius, I know! I close my eyes for the last time and inhale deeply as I lift my upper body and reach with my head towards the supple cushion that will support my noggin for the next several hours. I exhale and allow my head to fall freely toward the surface that has never let me down. But my pillow of perfection was not what my head landed on. Instead I literally smacked into the back of my husband’s shoulder. It jarred my teeth, hurt my ear and smushed my face. Of course I woke the sleeping bear, well he growled a little anyway. I suppose I would have too if a bowling ball had unexpectedly come crashing down on my back while I was sleeping peacefully. In a culmination of coincidences, Hubbs decided to go to bed in a t-shirt and said t-shirt happened to be the same color as my perfect pillowcase. I bet he will not make that mistake again-poor Hubbs! My stark realization now is that after almost a year of marriage I am still nowhere near becoming accustomed to sharing a bed, even a king-size.
As everyone knows, our most beloved wedding present was from my Dad in the furry form of a puppy. I could go on and on about how we cannot imagine a day without her and what a blessing she has been. While I certainly do not advocate every couple getting a dog as soon as they walk down the aisle I can speak to the joy and happiness she has brought into our lives. Everyone asks us how we got her, and so this is the story…
We had discussed getting a lab for quite some time. Specifically, we agreed that when we did get a lab we would get a female because my Dad has handsome boy of his own and we would have the option to breed if we chose to do so. Unexpectedly, my Dad called us up a day after we had gotten back from our honeymoon to go “look at” some puppies. He hinted at the notion that it was a late wedding present. I suppose now that I look back on it he must have been planning it and I certainly give him major props for thoughtfulness.
On the way to the breeder I was more than a little excited, I was euphoric. Deep in my heart I have always wanted a chocolate lab. They look so adorable with that deep, lush coat you just want to burry your face in. Snuggling up to a chocolate lab, in my mind, simply makes everything seem right in the world. Not to mention they are called chocolate! What bad thing has ever stemmed from chocolate? Aside from big hips…egh, so what? Anyway, we get to the breeder’s and there are five little yellow puppies running around and one big fat chocolate puppy. SQUEAL! This little fleshy bundle was the same age as the rest of the puppies but was easily twice their size. He fit perfectly in my arms and I could see my dreams of chocolate lab ownership beginning to materialize. The fact that he was a boy was negligible to me because he was so plump and cuddly. This puppy lived to be held and he wanted to be held by me!!! One tiny problem though…he was someone else’s’ puppy. Even after the breeder explained to me that another family had already purchased him and had decided to wait until the weekend to take him home I was still attached to this puppy. I wanted him, I had waited for him, and couldn’t everyone just see that this puppy and I were meant for each other? Apparently not! So once I came back to reality the breeder separated the available puppies so that we could just focus on the cute little yellow females. We asked questions about each puppy’s personality and individual traits. We discussed the size of the parents and compared the puppies in stature and proportion. We ran around and played with the litter of stumbling balls of fur looking to see who appeared to be the most energetic, alert, keen and eager. Knowing we did not want a shy and reserved dog, we chose the most tenacious and energetic one. A pistol from the get-go, she trotted right on up to my husband and enthusiastically licked him in the face. I am pretty sure this little exploit greatly boosted her likelihood of coming home with us. The feisty one was the puppy for us. She had bountiful amounts of energy and was full of zest.
In many ways she is still that carefree little puppy. Her eagerness to please us has always been a defining characteristic. She is incredibly smart and very social. She still loves to lick faces (though we are trying to break that habit). While puppies are cute and furry and pull at your heart they do grow up and that is wonderful as well. Sure, she has chewed a few things and she can be easily distracted by butterflies or floating pieces of dust but she is our “Baby Girl” and she is a huge part of our family. I’m sure we will get another lab one day (it better be a chocolate!) but Princess Austin is our firstborn, our first love and will set the standard for all our dogs to come.
How does one find balance? Better yet, where do I even begin to look for it? I wouldn’t say I struggle to keep everything in my life balanced but I definitely strive for stability. I cannot seem to find the time to work, keep the house clean, cook dinner, do the laundry, play with the dogs, balance my checkbook and do the grocery shopping. That of course does not include scheduling an occasional girl’s night and above all, being a good wife. Assuming I had the time, where does the energy come from? While I am enthusiastic about performing all of these tasks the time vs. energy debacle inevitably appears. How does it all fit together? Then, when I do get it all together how do I keep it all together?
