Update

I'm not very good at this blogging thing. I know. It just seems that there aren't many interesting things going on in our lives.

Spring has sprung in Michigan...sort of. It MIGHT be safe to say we won't have any more snow. My tulips finally bloomed a few days ago, and the trees and bushes are getting leaves. The day lillies (at least that's what we think they are) have gotten really tall and thick throughout our front yard, and the myrtle (ground covering) has tiny purple flowers all over it. Steve built us a new bench for our backyard using some old stairs that the previous owners left behind. It curves around a new firepit he dug. He also planted 100, yes 100, white pine trees in our yard. His next project is the horseshoe pit and dog house/kennel. Steve LOVES working outside which is a good thing because he has plenty to do! This summer we are going to powerwash and seal our house as well as paint the doors and part of the house. Talk about a good time!

Last weekend we went to Illinois so Steve could take a test for his structural engineering stuff. He claims that he failed but we won't find out for 4 more months. At least that means he won't have to study for 4 more months and we can work on the house!

Moose is getting big. I would estimate that he weighs about 110lbs. We switched him over from puppy to adult food...not because he isn't still growing...but because the puppy food pieces were just way to small for him and he was making a HUGE mess. He is more calm than he used to be and tires out very easily. He loves to play outside but quickly finds a place to lay down and watch Steve work. The invisible fence is WONDERFUL, and I am so glad we had it fixed for Moose. I love sending him out after work and not letting him back in until I am ready to play with him, and he loves it too.

He's SO spoiled. I know I spoil him, and sometimes I have to remind myself that he's just a dog, but he's great company, and sometimes it gets boring up here in the great white north.

No, he's not really drinking a McDonald's iced coffee! I wouldn't share that! He's just chewing on the straw because he LOVES coffee. Don't worry...I didn't drink after him.

While we were in Madison during my spring break, we stopped by the coolest dog shop. We picked up this bull for Moose. He loves stuffed animals and tears them up quickly, but this one is nearly Moose-proof. I would definitely recommend this brand of toy for dogs that tear EVERYTHING up. If you want more info, let me know.

We went to my parents house for Easter. Moose loved looking out the door/windows because he doesn't get to be on the floor of our house that has low windows. When I took these pictures he was waiting for Steve to get home and didn't budge until he was back. It's safe to say that Steve is his favorite.

While we were in NC, Moose got to "play" with Dixie, my sister's dog. Moose did a MUCH better job than when he saw her at Christmastime. He would either lay down or "bow" down to get on her level to play with her. It was pretty cute.

We took the truck on the trip which meant Moose had to ride in the tiny backseat along with our luggage and his stuff. He did a great job and slept most of the way. He didn't have much room to stretch, but didn't complain. We are lucky that he travels well.

Steve won't let me put clothes on Moose, but when I saw this robe in my garage sale pile, I couldn't resist. After Moose's bath I snuck this on him. Of course, he didn't mind and proudly walked around in it. It was so funny to see that Steve couldn't get upset. It fit perfectly!

So, he just curled up and went to sleep in his new robe.

Update

Things have been pretty uneventful here, which is good.

We've been enjoying the warm(ish) days and spending a lot of time outside walking, playing frisbee with Moose, grilling, and cleaning up our enormous overgrown yard.

One of Moose's favorite parts about the warm days is that he gets to go outside when I get home and stay out for a few hours. I love it too because it keeps our house cleaner and keeps him out of my hair so I can get stuff done. (This is his "attack" pose...isn't the "wonky" ear intimidating?)

He loves to hang out on the back deck while I am cooking dinner.

Check out the bulldog beanie baby in the picture. That's Moose's "baby." Steve and I both thought he would destroy it (like everything else), but he LOVES it. He never bites down hard on it and just carries it around wherever he goes.
Our yard is looking better and better every day. I have to give the credit to Steve. He spent a lot of time this winter clearing out the trees. There were a lot of dead trees he had to cut down along with a lot of poison ivy and prickly vines he had to clear out. Now, we are down to sticks, more prickly vines, and leaves to clear out. Nobody has lived in this house for a couple years, and it shows!

We bought the house last fall after a very dry summer. When we moved in, everything was already dead. It's been pretty exciting watching plants start to grow. There are THOUSANDS of tiny blooms all around the front and side of our house in the trees. I have no idea what they are, but I am excited to find out. If anybody could identify these leaves, I would LOVE it. I'll post pictures when/if they bloom.

Moose turned 8 months old on Thursday. We have no idea how much he weighs but he's getting big! :) About a month ago, I taught him to put his front paw on my shoulder when I sit in front of him. He picked up on it really quicklybut then decided to make the trick even better by putting both paws on my shoulders so we can sit eye to eye.

Playing outside all evening makes Moose a sleepy pup! After 3 or 4 hours of playing outside, I bring him in to cuddle with me on the couch. When it's time to go to bed, it's always hard to get him to stand up and go downstairs to his crate. One night, he decided to be even more defiant and "flop" away from Steve each time he tried to grab him. It was funny to watch a 100 lb dog wiggle his way out of Steve's hands. Eventually, Moose flopped himself under the table where he thought he was safe. This made it even more difficult to get him because he was almost wedged under the table. Steve was pretty made and laughing at the same time.

Moose is still having a hard time sleeping on the couch. He just doesn't fit so well. We made the loveseat Moose's by putting sheets on it. If only he would lay like this all the time.

Usually, it's like this....

Or this. Isn't that bed I made a great pillow?

Recipes

This weekend I found two great recipes that I definitely want to share.

First, Friday night we went out with some of our friends. At this time, none of us have children so we love talking about our dogs. One of our friends asked me if Moose has dry skin....well, yeah! I bathe him once a week! She told me about a spray she had mixed up for her dog after finding it on the internet.

1 part water
1 part baby oil
1 part Listerine (I am guessing it doesn't have to be brand name, but that's her exact words)

Her dog had seriously dry skin (and it worked on him), but Moose just has some dandruff-like stuff. Since he's black, it shows up a lot and annoys me. Last night after Moose had dried off from his bath I sprayed it on and rubbed it in. It was not oily at all! I was a little worried that he would lick it off and it would make him sick. He did lick, but he did not get sick. Today, I gave him a good scratch and checked it out and it seems to really work (and it smells good, too). I am not sure how often to apply it, but I will definitely keep a bottle of it on hand.

Second, I took some time over the weekend to check out some beer bread mix recipes. The third Woods women craft night is coming up and this time we are putting together mixes to keep in our pantry. Each person is supposed to find a recipe for a mix (bread, dessert, soup, dip, whatever) and bring the recipe, ingredients (enough for the group), and a sample to craft night. I chose beer bread because we love it, and it's expensive to buy the mix ($9 in Pampered Chef). I found a couple recipes that looked simple and tried them both. Here's my favorite.

Ingredients
3 cups flour (sifted)
3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can beer
1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)
Directions
1Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2Mix dry ingredients and beer.
3Pour into a greased loaf pan.
4Pour melted butter over mixture.
5Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Using self-rising flour made it even more easy! I'm excited to meet up with the other Woods women and go home with a bunch of fun mixes!

Steve

I'm a lucky girl to have such a talented husband. He never ceases to amaze me.

A week or so ago, I mentioned that I would love to have one of those "words" to put on the mantle (that he made) but I didn't know what word I wanted.....love, family, patience, etc. They had TONS of them at Hobby Lobby, but none of them seemed to fit us. Steve told me to pick a word, and he would make it for me. :)

Last weekend, our kitchen faucet started to spray out of the handle....not good. So, today, we headed to Lowes for a new faucet and Steve installed it for me. :) LOVE IT!

Last, but not least, Steve passed his test! He has been studying for it every night for at least a month. It stunk! Mostly for him, but I was a pretty bored girl. Well, Thursday he went to take the test with 2 other people, and he passed! He was the only one out of the three who passed, and he REALLY passed. He only missed 3 out of 200 possible points. He says at work people are calling him, "Wonder Boy" and "Genius." Haha. Now, he is LEED certified which means he can design "green" buildings (I think). His next test is in April so we're celebrating this weekend so he can start studying again this week.

Moose is 7 Months Old

Moose turned 7 months old last Thursday. :) In 5 months, he won't be a "puppy" any more. I'm looking forward to that because it seems that he is a puppy in an adult body. I couldn't tell you how much he weighs because weighing him is beginning to be quite a struggle. We're working on finding another method, but until then, here are some recent pictures.

For the last month, Steve has been studying down in his room for his test. Moose insisted on being with him. This was his spot. :) So cute.

I found his Colts bandana that my mom sent him when we first got him. At the time, it didn't fit well and it bugged him, but, now, he deals with it. I'm thinking now that I can sew, these puppies would be easy to make, but Steve says they are "gay" so he can't wear them. Booo!

Now that Steve is done studying for his test, he and Moose can wrestle and box more often. (**No animals were harmed during this picture....he's 100lbs for goodness sake!***) I am always amazed, but he truly LOVES being beat up on by Steve. He is definitely Moose's favorite.

When it comes to cuddling, I am the favorite. :) He definitely thinks he's a lap dog...or a side dog...or a wherever-he-wants-to-be dog.

Moose got a package yesterday from his "grandma" Patty. Apparently, she saw how mistreated he was when she came to visit last weekend. She sent him a GALLON of shampoo (hey, a bath once a week for a giant dog=a bunch of shampoo), 2, yes 2 packages of Greenies for large breeds (his favorite), and an awesome toy. Moose knew right away that this toy was his, and quickly it became a favorite.

When my parents were visiting last weekend, my mom sat on this couch and "cuddled" with Moose. (She sat on couch while Moose walked all over her.) In the past, he has never paid much attention to this couch. I think it's because we never really sit on it, but, now, he LOVES it. He thinks it is HIS couch. That's not a bad thing, because it will be just his size, but it's not a good thing because it is super light and shows every hair that he sheds. I stopped by KMart today for a sheet to use as a slipcover until he gets over this phase.

Face to Face

Today, when I got home from work, Moose jumped up to get a hug......and his face was right up with mine!

He's not even stretching!

I love this picture! It's the true Moose. He's shiny, pretty, gangly, and awkward at the same time.

Update

I've been told by a few faithful followers that I haven't updated my blog lately. My response was we haven't been doing much. Today, I walked around the house searching for clues that we have been somewhat productive.

Besides going to work and doing the daily boring things, I guess we've done some other things along the way.

1. I am becoming more of a Michiganian every week! I finally got my MI driver's license, had my name and address changed on my Visa (very important), and PASSED my Michigan teacher's test. Yes, folks, I can now legally teach in MI. :) I had nightmares about failing for weeks and getting fired, but I passed. :)

2. A couple weeks ago I went home for the weekend. It was my first weekend away from Steve since we were married. I had a blast w/ the Retherfords and Rausches on Friday night making Lyre Lather (green cleaning products).

Then, on Saturday, Kar and I went fabric shopping, and I headed to New Castle for a little basketball fix. First, we went to see my 5 year old cousin play, and, then, we headed to the High School for another game.

3. Moose has been getting bigger and more mischevious. He can now EASILY reach most tables and desks. He can even stick his head in the washer...SCARY! He gets a bath every Sunday. I know, most people think I am crazy, but he's a big dog and gets very smelly by the end of the week. He's actually really good in the bath tub. He's been getting a weekly bath since we got him so I guess he's just used to it. A few weeks ago, he realized he could see himself in the bathroom mirror. I had to get a picture of it.

He's 6 1/2 months now. I'm guessing he's about 95 pounds. He doesn't seem to be gaining as fast, but maybe it's just because he's so big now.

4. For months we had at least a foot or two of snow pretty much everywhere. Then, along with the rest of the midwest, it all melted in a couple 50 degree days. Moose was NOT happy. He loves to play in the snow, and even refused to "go" on the grass for a few days. Luckily, the snow came back on Valentine's day morning. We have about 4 inches on the ground. Just enough for Moose to play in.

The only good thing about the snow melting was that he found some of his bones he had lost in the piles.

5. Steve has been really busy since Christmas working out in the yard. After he got his chainsaw for Christmas, he went crazy cutting down dead trees in our yard, but then the snow fell and covered them. Friday, he spent the day cutting up the trees and splitting wood before the snow came again. Check out our wood pile!

I never thought I would be so excited about a wood pile, but now I look at it and see our gas bill going down.

6. We have tomatoes in our Aerogrow! I don't like tomatoes, but it's exciting to see them grow. Steve eat's them right off the plant....ewww!

7. I've been sewing more. A week or so ago, I made this cute scarf with some fat quarters that Kar and I picked out when we went fabric shopping. I cut up a cheap fleece blanket for the back and made some cute fabric covered buttons for each end.

Then, a couple days ago we had Woods' family craft night with the girls and Steve's aunt taught us how to make these cute mittens out of "felted" sweaters and fleece.

8. Yesterday was our first Valentine's day as a married couple. Steve started v-day a bit early by sending me pink tulips (my favorite) to work on Thursday. Saturday morning, he got up early and picked up Louie's doughnuts and Biggby coffee (our usual) while I slept. When he went outside to work, I got busy and made my first attempt at his favorite, red velvet cake with wonder icing (his aunt's recipe).

While the cake was baking, I made his v-day gift, the other boxing glove I was promising. For weeks he was asking me to sew him a boxing glove so he and Moose could "box." Finally, I did, but I only made one. So, after seeing how much he and Moose liked the glove, I promised to make him another for v-day so he could have a set. I even personalized the 2nd one with some Michigan State stuff.