The joys of owning a home

Lots has been done since the last blog almost a month ago...

**totally off topic... but the ice cream man comes up our road!!!!**

I had to take a quick break to walk up the road and get an Oreo ice cream bar and a chocolate eclair bar for us...yum yum!

Here's pictures of our updates as of late:

Our new fence!! Sorry the first picture is sideways!

Last weekend we stained the deck. We thought it would be easier to just use a sprayer, but the sprayer didn't work so well. We ended up painting it the old fashion way: a paintbrush and a cup of stain!



This is our new patio set from my mom and dad. We bought an outdoor area rug to define the area a little bit (nah- I just liked it!).



...And here is Ribey...she loves the freedom (no more leash) and she gets to chew on HUGE sticks!

Next up is the patio that is going on the other side of the stairs leading down to the backyard and also a retaining wall next to our driveway with a planting bed! We figured we would fix up the backyard first since we're in it more!

Countdown: only 14 more days of school! :-)

May 8th-10th, 2009

*~Hershey Park Competition "Battle of the States"~* The dance team that I coach won FIRST PLACE!!!




Richie's creation in our backyard!!! He did such a good job!




Riley sitting pretty outside!!!

My Spoiled Puppy

Yes her food and water bowl is decorated with her name!

Something she learned at obedience class!

Yucky, Rainy Monday

It was a busy weekend as always in our household. Riley had obedience class (she learned down and leave it), my mom, sister, and I went to pick out flowers for the wedding, and Shana stayed over at our house Saturday night. BTW- Slum Dog Millionaire was an ok movie...I don't know that it deserved the gazillion awards that it got. Just my opinion.

Anyways, since today was such a yucky, rainy Monday in CT and it's also my Spring Vacation, I figured I would make chili for dinner. Now have I ever made chili? No, but I have to say that it actually came out pretty good. I'm very impressed with myself! Just to show you how impressed I am...I am going to share some photos with you!

Doggy School

Riley went to obedience class yesterday for her first class. We signed up at PetSmart for these classes because she needs a little bit of training. It's not that she's a bad puppy, she just needs to learn that she can't always get her way (which is a lot my fault). We arrived about 20 minutes early and once the trainer saw that we were there for the class, she immediately had us walking Riley around the training rink. She said "a tired puppy is a good puppy". So basically I guess dogs listen better once the hyperness is out of them (hmmm...sounds like kids!). So after walking for 15 minutes, she was definitely tired. Riley started to learn that if she pulls as we are walking she's not going to go where she wants to go. If she pulled, we had to turn around for 3 steps and the turn back around and continue on our walk. By the end of the 15 minutes, she was staying mostly on my left side, not pulling as much, and would stop when I stopped. Big improvement over how she normally walks.

Once class started, she was pretty good. A few of the other dogs were barking a lot and the trainer slammed two metal bowls together and shouted "uh uh" to make them quiet down. This scared Riley, but nothing scared her more than when the trainer pulled out the can with the pennies in it. Riley absolutely hates that (hence the fact we have one at home and have since she was a baby). When the dogs would start to bark, the trainer shook the can and yelled "quiet". It was never directed at Riley, but let me tell you, all she had to do was hear it once and she was under mine and Richie's legs!

She did learn some other tricks though at class (after being scared). We were taught how to use a clicker and pair it was a treat (which eventually will be taken away). She learned the look command and has transferred it to home as well. I think she is going to be a quick learner! So far so good.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was quite busy...which I didn't think it was going to be that way. Saturday we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to finish our Bridal Registry. I think we thought there was a lot more that we didn't get to look through, but once we got there we had put most of it on the list already. After finishing up there, Richie and I went to meet his mother, sister, and nieee at David's Bridal, along with my mom, sister, cousin and her daughter. It was absolutely crazy there and I probably should have made an appointment. Oh well...live and learn I guess. It was productive though because we ordered the flower girl dresses and the bride's maids dresses. Afterwards, everyone went to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays!

Sunday wasn't as bad. We went to a bridal show at Anthony's Lake Club where our reception is going to be held. It was great because they were serving butlered hors d'ovuers (I know I spelled that wrong) as well as other food options. They also had samples of cakes from Luigi's Bakery in Trumbull. Amazing! We didn't really need to look at too much, but we met a florist who seemed very reasonable and was very helpful, as well as a place that does invitations. They are coming out to our house this weekend for a free consultation, which is great! Hopefully the estimate is a lot lower than previous ones!

One major decision made this weekend: Riley is going to obedience classes! It's not that she's a bad puppy, she just needs to learn some new tricks (and how to listen)! It's 8 weeks long and hopefully she'll have her listening ears on!

Bridal Registry

Richie and I went on Saturday to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to register for our wedding. We didn't get to completely finish our registry, but we have a good amount on there so far. I think we are going back on Saturday to complete it.

www.bedbathandbeyond.com

Click on Bridal and Gift Registry, then type in my name or Richie's and voila, it should be there!