Bye-Bye popcorn!

Yep, today's the day!  The popcorn will be eradicated from the premisis.  Anyone have any idea what a scraped ceiling, that's been repaired and textured looks like?  Is it even going to be white?  How soon are we talking that I'll need to prime and paint?

We're having these folks by, and let me tell you, they'll be here early.  E-A-R-L-Y.  Like 7am early.  Why did we sign up for this on a holiday again?  Oh.  That's right- double discount, and this way it's just finished by my goal of the end of Feb.  :)

Since we have to be out of the house all day, we're taking the pups to the dog park out in South San Francisco/Daly City.  It's called Ft. Funston.  Can't wait!  Gunner has been, but Lexi hasn't.  She's almost a year old now, so it's time.  Plus, it's supposed to be 62* tomorrow in SF.  62* in the middle of FEBRUARY?  Who knew.

Here are some photos from some of the past times we've gone with Gunner:

 

What a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco.   Do you see that small whitish spec towards the bottom of the cliff in the center of the photo?  Yea, that's a dog.  These are big cliffs!

  

The cliffs are so steep that people hang glide off them.

  

He kind of likes the water... but not really.

  

Freshly shaved cocker spaniel showing us the way to the beach.

 

This is the cliff you climb to get up and down from the dunes to the beach.  Pretty steep, and a great workout. 

I can't wait to post some progress pics this week.  Is it bad I'm already trying to schedule time to have the hardwood floors, that have been in the garage for two months now, installed?  Is middle of March too lofty of a goal?  I think not.

Anyway.  After the ceilings are done, and we're back from the beach, it's shopping time at Michael's & Joann's!  Both are having President's Day sales, with 40% off coupons, ALONG with a extra 15% for Michaels, and 20% off for Joann's.  I'm there!

Take care everyone, and have a great day off if you're one of the lucky ones :)  (I still have through Tuesday off... extending this one freebie day off to a five day weekend thankyouverymuch!)

VOTW #5: Relaxing ahead

WELCOME everyone, to another episode of our weekly party: VOTW: Victory Of The Week!  (...and, Welcome BACK to some of you!)

Each week, on Fridays, we take a few minutes to re-count our wins, our successes... our Victories, of the past 7 days (or longer :)  )

While I don't call them "rules" per say, the idea is that you link up to something you're proud of- something new you tried or did, something awesome you just have to share!  Whether big or small, we have small victories each week that keep us going in this life.  I just want you to share them!

So for me this week, I've had a trying work week, but a fabulous blog week.  I can't even comprehend all the great things I was able to do during one break of the crazy California rain storm we're in the middle of.

So, let's recap, even though these projects aren't all posted yet:

I painted 8 things:

2 Lamps (yes, one was my milk jug lamp!)
2 small 5x7 canvases
1 large 30x40 canvas (sneak peak here, at the end)
1 set of bookends
1 ceramic bird
1 newly revamped chalkboard

I crafted 4 things:

Red fabric heart wreath
Jute wrapped Vase w/vintage Key
Milk Glass Birds Nest
Cigar box-mod podge glitter box (not such a happy ending.  sigh.)

I organized/created 2 things:

Phase 1 of office/craft room
Facebook page for Design-Aholic

That's a total of 14 projects, and I couldn't be happier with an average of 2/day for the week.  :)

BUT...

Actually, today, with all those great projects listed, I'm kicking back for my small victory:

Spending some downtime with these two cuties (and Z, who's not pictured :) )

 

That's Gunner, a chocolate Cocker Spaniel on the left, and Lexi, a Boxer/Labrador (puppy!) on the right.

You may have remembered a week or so back when Lexi got skunked?  Fun Times.  Or when I made modern silhouettes out of their mugs in November?

And, I'll also be taking some time to catch up on some magazines that have been calling my name:

 

 That's right, two new subscriptions kicked in: Veranda & Good Housekeeping (both $5/year subscriptions through Amazon deals) along with Real Simple, two decor catalogs: Ballard and Ethan Allen, along with everyone's favorite, Better Homes & Gardens.

I'm still waiting for my newest House Beautiful to come.  :)

So lovelies, I leave you with MckLinky for this week's VOTW: Victory Of The Week

Grab a smaller button, and post up on your page to remind others to be proud of their victories:

I'll do a re-cap of VOTW #4 this weekend.  I'm honestly pooped.  I'm so excited however to have had everyone link up, so I'll be featuring you guys again real soon.

And, a special note to all my followers:  I've got EVEN MORE coming!  As a special gift to me this weekend, a friend that I work with is letting me watch her two adorable kids Saturday morning, in exchange for showing me how to use my sewing machine!  WooHoo!  I'm thinking it's a pretty fair trade.  :)  Can't you just imagine how aweome the post will be when I share with you that I finally revamped the living room!

Skunked!

Real life skunks are NOTHING like Pepe LePew.  This, I had re-confirmed for me early in the morning on Saturday (6:30 am!) when our puppy ran after one...

Lets just say, she ran back to us as quickly as she had run to chase the skunk... Only difference was she STUNK!  Yes, Lexi was skunked.  Oh the joys.  sigh.

So, in a delerious state, Z yelled to me that she had been sprayed, and I instantly was wide awake, and had the computer up and running to find the potion to bathe her in.  Of course, tomato juice was the first thing to pop in our head, but, oh no.  We found a recipe, and if you have a dog, you should print this out, and keep it in a little "kit" so you can grab and go (and quickly!) if your dog gets it.


(*Disclaimer:  we did NOT come up with this formula.  We found it listed all over the web, so rest assured, it appears to be safe.  Plus I think Lexi kind of liked it, ha.  That makes one of us)

SKUNK KIT CONTENTS:
1 quart hydrogen peroxide (32 fl oz makes a quart)
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tbsp liquid dish soap (like Dawn, palmolive, etc...)

The above mixture is for the body.  Don't put this on their faces!

If your dog gets skunked in the face (notice red eyes, etc) we found online that douche is reccomended.  Yes, odd.  I'd reccomend the basic un-scented- the one I picked up said it was just distilled water and vinegar.

Luckily, all this stuff is relatively inexpensive.  The kit would cost around $5, and is worth having on hand, I now know.  :)

Skunk spray is oily, so the dish soap in the mixture really helps.  Wash the spot, or area repeatedly with your mixture, and then bathe with regular dog shampoo.

 

 

After the baths, and back to normal...

 

And her new collar.  It was a big day for her, and she was a sleepy girl early in the evening.

So, we are probably going to have to throw away a few sets of clothes, and had to get Lexi a new collar.  But hey- Z broke down and bought her a pink one.  She's pretty with her new collar!  awww...

I don't wish this one anyone!  Eesh.