A home of her own

In recent times, our ridgeback has learned this new trick.



So we've been formulating plans in order to curb this behavior. We've had lots of suggestions and have come to the conclusion that the solution has to be a combination of things.

Step One: figure out WHY Daphne feels the need to jump.  
Answer? She's scared. (We were able to confirm this theory by sending J-dubs into the front yard with fireworks) She will spend all day in the yard until something makes a loud noise and then it's adios backyard, hello freedom!
Solution? Make Daphne feel safe.

Ok, how do you make a dog feel safe? You give her somewhere safe to hide, of course! Brilliant! We have one doghouse sitting in the corner of the yard unused, but never felt the need to train the dogs to use it. I mean, they dug themselves a nice dirt pit to hang out in, and we were always able to keep them inside when it rained. Mistake made. In my defense, how do you train two dogs to use one dog house? Right? Right?

Unfortunately, the Dillons are financially burdened right now due to numerous unfortunate life events (see previous post) and are unable to purchase a second doghouse. I talked to my sister, like I always do when life gets complicated, and told her about my theories and about how our plan was to work on training two dogs to feel safe with ONE dog house until we could afford to buy a second one. I'm sure dogs have the ability to understand the complex concept of sharing.  

Fast forward a few days. I come home from work and there on my porch is a big box. The picture on the front? A beautiful dog house. I know what you're thinking, and you're right. My sister is AWESOME. She and Whatahusband had sent us a doghouse! J-dubs and I ate dinner as fast as we could and scrambled outside to start building.

Tools + Box = Mess

Mess + Effort = DOG HOUSE

Happiness is a surprise from your sister.

We introduced Daphne to her new Outback Cottage. She was less thrilled than we were, but after lots of coaxing (and maybe a little pushing) she was in!

And we can't leave out her brother, OP, who had no trouble conquering his hand-me-down doghouse.

It's going to take lots of training and time, but I have faith that Daphne will learn to love her cottage.

Stay tuned for "Step Two: create an impenetrable force-field like barrier in order to give Daphne no choice but to run to her cottage to hide because even though it's scary, it's slightly less scary than the force-field". Wish us luck.

This post is brought to you by my wonderful sister, without whom my life would be incomplete. She is my best friend, my confidant, and my trusted adviser. Lofa. 

Times, they are a-changin'

My supervisor recently sent out an email with that title. It immediately made my heart stop. My first thought was "more change??? really?". Thankfully, the email was an announcement regarding my new position at work (which is a positive change hopefully), but the phrase has stuck with me for days...

After a recent string of horrible luck following close behind a difficult season in life, I am done with change. It seems as if I'm continually walking on quicksand. What new thing will break today? What new pain awaits around the next corner? When will the floor drop out from underneath me? I'm continually waiting for the next bad thing and they just keep coming.

While I am thankful for our many blessings I cannot keep my heart from feeling like I am owed more. I'm feeling like my blessing card is scheduled to be punched and this punch is LATE.

I finally felt like life was going well. I felt comfortable and confident in my friendships. I was proud of my work and sure that I was integral to the work environment. My family was as stable as it could be. My marriage was happy and healthy.

Then friends began to journey through change and loss. My support system needed to be supported. I gladly jumped in and began cheering for job interviews and scheduling lunch dates. I wanted to be there for them. I wanted to be an important part of their lives. I didn't want to get left out.

Then my job changed unexpectedly. I was thrown into a dysfunctional situation, but persevered thinking that this new challenge would teach me to grow. I was hopeful that I would be stretched and be able to use this time to work on some of my less than favorable personality quirks.  I wanted to be recognized.

Then my family began to transition. We've faced sickness and uncertainty. We no longer function as a unit, but as individuals. So many family members are going through big life change. I have tried to hop on board and be supportive. I decided to figure out my new role in their changing lives. I didn't want to get left behind.

Then our healthy home began to fall apart. Progress we had made toward financial stability got set back. Things kept breaking or running away and hopes of starting a family soon were pushed back. Our relationship became one of co-workers and warriors. It was us against the destruction and we were losing. I wanted to be supported.

Things got messy. There have been tears most days and little to laugh about. I am carrying sorrow over many things. I've felt unimportant, overlooked, left behind, and unsupported. I feel defeated.

I keep looking at Jay and saying "I'm done. I've had enough."

I'm battling feeling terribly sad and alternately feeling guilty that I feel terribly sad. I know I'm not enjoyable to be around and I feel myself beginning to pull away, but I can't stop it. This is when the insecurity rears its ugly head and I begin to believe that I have no value. That my presence at work and in the lives of others makes no difference. While I know I'm being selfish and self-centered, the emotion will not leave. I keep telling myself that they are just lies. That my friends and family do care. That the blessings will cycle back around.

So I continue to wait. I'm waiting for this season of life to end. I'm waiting on the promise of change and hoping for good things. I'm hopeful that my friends and family will be blessed, as my heart hurts deeply for many of them. Mostly... I'm waiting on my heart to mature. I want to be the kind of woman who is able pour unending love and time into others and more importantly to do so without the insecure need to have it reciprocated or appreciated. I want to be able to face the challenges of life without falling apart. I want to be a blessing to others and not a burden. I want to feel deeply loved and valued.

After all, as much as I dread it, times they are a-changin' and so I will hope that I will be a-changin' too.

Sunday with the Dillons

This has got to be comfortable, right?

(please ignore the giant stain on our garage sale couch)

J-dub and Opie joined the party

On an unrelated note, I've officially kept this Christmas cactus alive for over a year. In honor of this accomplishment I've bought a real pot to put it in. AND I threw away the plastic one it came in. This is a big deal.

There's a little bit of a Daphne-bomb in this one. She kept walking back and forth in the background of the picture. She couldn't figure out why I was hanging out by the door and NOT letting them in.
 

My giant fear is now that it will die because I've moved it. Usually me touching plants is a disastrous occurence. Let's hope this one survives my good intentions...

Absent

I didn't really know how to move on. I wasn't sure what post to put up. At the same time, it just doesn't feel right to leave up the baby shower posts. It doesn't feel right to take them down either. I'm learning that in life some things are both painful and good. My heart doesn't like this. It would rather have things be black and white. Either painful or good. They seem easier to deal with that way. I like having clear cut plans for moving through life. It's hard to accept a situation that can neither be fixed or enjoyed.

However, life must continue on, and so must my blog. Moving forward doesn't mean leaving things behind, it just means you get to take them with you.

Baby Shower for Eleanor: Part 2

Watching the gifts being opened

The mom-to-be deep in baby related conversation

Opening gifts

After having brunch and opening gifts I wanted to have some sort of activity for everyone to participate in. Since I knew Amanda wouldn't enjoy the typically baby shower games, I decided that we would all decorate onesies! My vision is that Amanda will wake up in the middle of the night to a fussy baby who needs to be changed and when she reaches for a new outfit she is reminded of one of her friends who loves her. It also helps that some of the onesies will bring a big ol' smile to her face.

I made a few examples so that I could have something to show the girls and so that I could make very clear instructions.

Example 1

Example 2 Front

 Example 2 Back

I set up a few different stations around the house with instructions at each point hoping to curb some of the chaos. 

I had a table full of scissors, cookie cutters (to use as stencils), stamps, fabric markers, stencils, and paper. Let the mess and creative juices FLOW!

 There was a table with an iron, but that part wasn't interesting in a picture.

 

I was SO impressed with what these girls created! 

Here is a picture of all of the completed onesies together

Since they turned out SO cute, I have to share some close-ups!

A mermaid! Brilliant. 

This one looked store bought! (front)

 What's cuter than little designs on the patootie? (back)

 The mom-to-be hand drew this little elephant for Eleanor! (front)

With a little E on the back for added cute factor (back)

Eleanor already has LOTS of siblings, they just happen to be the four legged kind. I made this onesie with her animal loving daddy in mind. (front)

Can't resist a little booty bling! (back)

The shower was a huge success and everyone had a great time. It was definitely a labor of love and I really enjoyed putting my creative talents to work. Party planning/throwing happens to be one of my favorite things. I just LOVE seeing the honoree's reactions and hearing everyone's little comments about decor or treats. It makes all of the late night cutting and pasting worth it.

Plus... I can't wait to see little Eleanor in our couture creations!

Baby Shower for Eleanor: Part 1

My sweet friend Amanda is pregnant with her first baby and I had the pleasure of throwing her work baby shower. True story: I do not work with Amanda, but being married to her co-worker gets me into the club. Amanda is not a super girly girl and I knew that she didn't want your typical sherbet punch and belly measuring baby shower. We needed to do something unique and special for this wonderful lady.

I started off by choosing non-cutesy invites that reminded me of some decor she had picked out for the nursery. You can find the invitations here.

After that I decided on a menu. Since this was going to be a baby shower brunch I wanted to have some sweet and savory dishes. I decided on the following:

 

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Cups (found here)

These were delish! Since they are made in a muffin tin, there is nowhere for the bacon grease to go so next time I would set them on a paper towel for a little while before I transfered them to the plate.

Sausage Rolls (found here)

When I picked out this recipe I was worried that the Italian seasoning wouldn't be a good flavor fit for a brunch but I was WRONG. You really can't taste the parmesean or Italian seasoning, you can just taste the YUM. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake 

(out of my new Trisha Yearwood cookbook)

I was SO worried when I pulled this out of the oven because the center fell, but this was the hit of the party! It had this wonderful crunchy outside and a super moist inside. The sour cream really adds to the rich flavor. 

Strawberry Rice Krispie Pops

I wanted to have a hint of pink without overdoing the girly, so I decided to make rice krispie pops with strawberry marshmellows! The subtle strawberry flavor was a great surprise when you bit into the pop. I dipped them into white and milk chocolate and decorated them with all sorts of sprinkles! I put some floral foam into a basket and used it to display the pops!

Stay tuned for Part 2 which includes our baby shower craft!