The Big 1-0-0

That's right. Post number 100 right here. You're in it. And to commemorate this momentous occasion, I am going to post 100 things you don't know about me...

Just kidding. I would get bored after number 3 - which is that I have a serious love for Doctor Who and number 4 - that David Tennant is my favorite Doctor and number 5 - I recently watched every Top Gear episode featuring a Doctor Who actor/actress.

But that would be super boring, and you guys might stop reading. So here's to 100 things you don't know about Dillan.

Just Kidding. You know everything about Dillan. Except the fact that the quantity of freckles have multiplied by 100 (see what I did there) and it basically melts my heart every time I look at him. And then I panic because I have a deep fear that one day all his freckles will meld into one giant freckle and he will no longer be white and red but all red, which will exemplify his resemblance to a deer.

So, finally I will write 100 things about the 100 things that I could list for you.

No, I won't do that. But it would be much easier than creating any other list of things.

But all that to say, I'm really glad I started this little blog. I'm pretty excited that I've reached this mark and excited that people want to continue on in our journey, which will get pretty interesting as we transition into Nashville life. So, thanks for reading.

<digital high five>

Memorial Day

Cook-out with the in-laws yesterday evening was a welcome break from all the sorting and packing I did yesterday.

While waiting for the food to finish, Dillan and I had a little photoshoot. He's very dramatic.

 

After Dillan was exhausted from modeling, we - yes we, because I was closely followed by the puppies each trip - moved all the food out to the gazebo, where the puppies were left out.

 

But did not have to wait long for some attention.

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. I'm thankful for all the men and women who have served and are serving in the military.

The Way the Dill Pico Lies

Came across this artsy photo of Dillan.

Okay, so it's not actually artsy, it just shows my lack of photo skills, but it's fun, and I love the look in his eye. It's so bored, or something. Basically the look in his eyes all the time.

No TV

I think today is the day that we finally have no cable or internet in our apartment.

Gasp. Shock. Ahhh! The Horror! I'm scared.

You might be asking yourself, "self, why would anyone want to be without internet. I get cable, kind of, but internet?!?"

Well we have a few reasons.

1.) We are moving. We only have about 3 weeks in our apartment, and would rather save that money for the move than spend it on a bill - even if they can pro-rate.

2.) The next 3 weeks are going to be super busy. We have to pack. Nathan is leaving for Nashville early in the morning for a job interview. Then the next weekend he has 2 shows at the Blue Plum Festival. Then the next weekend we will be in Roanoke for my little sister's wedding.

3.) I love shows toooooo much. I watch TV. Oh, do I watch TV. And it's not healthy, I get on these "just one more episode" kicks that turns into 4 hours of "Scrubs." And I don't always pick good shows to watch, i.e. "Being Human" I just have to watching something. So I'm hoping that time without internet and cable will free me to pack, read, exercise, and visit with friends and family more before we move.

Do you have any experience with being internet free? Is it just the most freeing thing ever?

Thank you Clif Bars

This morning, sweet, sweet husband climbed into bed as my alarm was going off and said "Puppy's been out and fed so you can sleep in"

Thanks budsy!

Unfortunately, I set a new alarm that didn't go off so I slept a little too in. I feel like I've been wiping sleep out of my eyes all morning, and since the office is out of regular coffee (only decaf), I'm thankful for you, Clif bar.

Chocolate Mint is literally my favorite flavor combo

Happy Birthday Big Sister!

Hi big sister! I hope you're having a wonderful birthday!!!

Thanks for always looking out for me! I miss you and am so excited to see you in a couple of weeks! Then we'll all be grown up married girls with different last names, but always have the same hair, memories, and love.

Enjoy your day!

 

(this is the only picture of just us...let's fix that). 
((also I'm going to squeeze your baby first thing, and then she can squeeze Dillan))

The News is Out

Well friends, it's official. Nathan, Dillan, and I are moving to Nashville.

We leave here many friends, family, jobs, security, and comfort. But we are excited to go on this new adventure. One of uncertainty and faith. Knowing that God will provide us the right jobs, the right friends, church, everything.

Here we go!

Ticks

Yesterday Dillan brushed up against some small bushes to do his business. When he walked away there were 2 ticks clinging to his side. It wasn't a huge deal, they hadn't had time to burrow in there, so I brushed them off.

What is a big deal is that Nathan brushed one off of him last weekend.

And last week I found one crawling on him inside our apartment. Which I flushed down the toilet - the proper solution to any "bug in the house" problem.

After this first incident I promptly applied the Petarmor stuff (off brand frontline). I then assumed that that would take care of the tick issue. Apparently not. 

The Petarmor website says "...providing full-body protection to help keep your pets flea and tick free. And they stay gone for 30 days. It's that simple."

So does that mean that the ticks won't stay on? Or that they shouldn't be jumping onto my puppy to begin with?

Either way, We've been doing thorough body scans before I'll let Dillan back inside. I've also found that ticks are much more active when it gets hotter. So in the morning when we go out, they aren't around. Also, I guess it takes a while for them to get in under the coat to bite.

So, for all you other dog owners out there, beware the summer of the tick. We had a super mild winter, with a lot of days in the 50's/60's and no real snow or big freezes. Ticks have to have warmth for their larvae to grow (eww). Our warm winter promoted tick growth...and I'm sure it didn't hurt mosquito growth or flea growth or spider growth for that matter either.

It also isn't super comforting that I've seen deer twice in the morning along the back of our apartments. And deer population is directly linked to the population of deer ticks, which cause lyme disease, which is bad.

So, now being paranoid, I research some tick bite prevention for myself.

1. Wear light colored clothing with pants tucked into socks.

2. When you return home remove clothes and wash and dry. Ticks can survive a warm bath but not an hour in a hot dryer.

3. Inspection.

4. Infection will not occur within the first 24 hours of tick attachment. And after 48 hours of attachment, infection is only a risk of 12.5%.

5. Insect repellents won't necessarily repel ticks.


Info from source.

Reinvesting

Lately, Nathan and I have started to purge ourselves from all the stuff we've acquired over just 3.5 years of marriage.

We started out in a 1 bedroom campus apartment, to a 2 bedroom historic apartment that was too big for us - but awesome, to a 2 bedroom townhouse. Even with these small spaces that we've lived in, our cabinets are full, the shelves are piled high and the closets are overflowing. 

Nathan likes to reinvest any money gained from selling an item back into an item of the same type. For example, all music equipment sold is reinvested into better music equipment. All the dvd's we've sold will be reinvested into an Apple TV, etc. 

So when I sold a camera lens, Nathan asked if I would be reinvesting back into a better camera. Despite my amateur photography skills, no, I will not be reinvesting into anything.

Why? Because I have been finding my security in my savings account. Because I have been convinced that as long as we have that "emergency fund" set up, our lives will be good. Because I've been consumed with the fact that my student loans won't be paid for another 5 years.

But, because God is graceful and wants to remove all the sin from my life, it has been revealed to me that this is a lie.

No savings amount can make me secure. No debt amount can make me poor.

My security can only, only, come from Christ. He will always, always, provide beyond anything I need. Like I said, our cabinets are full, the shelves are piled high, and the closets are overflowing. I have more than I need yet I doubt whether he'll continue to provide.

So, with this realization, that I am free, I want to continue to purge our home of all that we don't use/need, and give it back to God, as I am called to do, as a worship act of what he's already done. 

Do the Dillans have large Talons?

Napoleon Dynamite: Do the chickens have large talons?
Farmer: Do they have what?
Napoleon Dynamite: Large talons.
Farmer: I don't understand a word you just said.

Dillan has some serious nail issues going on. As in, Does the Dillan have large talons? Yes Napoleon, yes he does.

And it's mostly my fault. For some reason, I have just been very busy lately and haven't taken much time to take the dog out on a proper walk.
So his nails have grown into this monstrosity:

They are freakishly long. Usually walks help keep them filed down, but the lack of walks have resulted in nails probably an inch long. 

I read that your greyhounds nails are too long if you can't slide a piece of paper under them while the dog is standing. I haven't tried this test, but I'm positive we'd fail.

I tried the Drimmel thing a few months ago. Ya know, the one where you file the nails with sandpaper on the end of a drimmel tool. We worked on one nail for about five minutes. I couldn't tell any difference.

It looks like I'll be investing in some clippers soon. but it scares me a bit. 

Have you had success in clipping your dogs nails? Any horror stories?

Naked Pico

Last night, I took Dillan's collar off so he could get those good pets and rubs on his neck. He loves it. But he looks so weird and naked.

And it emphasizes his tiny head.

Also, I dare you to caption this photo.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

awkward:
 - Handing a friend an empty plate to set her strawberry stems on only to find that the stems had already been dealt with. I thought she was holding them, so when I handed her the plate she just looked at me and set it down beside her.

 - Trying to change something I'd already said around to sound a bit nicer after a friend asked "what?" only to have him repeat back the original to me. 
     "Some of us have to work in the morning"
     "What?"
     "I have to go to work in the morning"
     "No you said 'some of us have to work in the morning!'"

 - losing the clasp to my pants, so I'm hooking through the hole it left. And the hole just gets bigger...

 - dry shampoo is no match for my oily hair. But it is fun to spray on.

 - I had to clean up both pee and vomit from my dog this week. I think he was getting back at me for leaving him for a couple days. He's very needy. He also attempted chewing on a table, and has apparently reverted to all puppy tendencies.

 - sheesh. talk. about. ice. cream. much?

awesome:
 - little sister graduating this past weekend and a good time with the family.

 - baby niece, who I didn't think could get any cuter, did in fact get cuter.

 - anticipating big changes in my life soon.

 - I get to watch "Game of Thrones" because an awesome friend lent a password, and I think I'll watch it with all that ice cream I've been talking about. 

Another Awkward and Awesome

Awkward and Awesome's originated at The Daybook

Well This Changes things

Last night I received the kind compliment of "I love your pants"

Said pants are kind of chartreuse/gold colored, and feel very on trend with the whole colored jean thing.

Source

Which led into the comment from me that I can actually wear yellow pants because it's not up near my face. Any color that doesn't look good on you can be worn in pant form instead. I then added that this is because I have olive toned skin.

Complimentary friend then said that her daughter can wear gold because she has dark hair and very olive skin. Then she showed me her undertones.

Then I turned my arm over and compared.

Turns out, all this time, I don't have olive undertones. My world has shattered. I've built myself on the possibility that I'm Grecian, or Turkish. but, lo, I am not.

I have golden undertones. Perhaps I'm Spanish...

Well, I've been researching and apparently this makes me an Autumn not a Winter...and more specifically a deep autumn. 

Source

Fortunately my clothes tend to fall into those colors, make-up however is another story. And since I made a "resolution" to wear more lipstick I think it's high time to take some pro suggestions for what red might actually work on me.

Are you brave enough to do the red lipstick thing?

To further my obsession

As you might recall from here and here I love ice cream.

Well I finally discovered that I can continue to fantasize over Jeni's ice cream at their all things splended ice cream blog.

In the meantime, until I get back to a place where I can physically purchase a splendid ice cream, I have made an ice cream pin board, you know, just to tame those cravings. (no not those cravings...)

AND a Fresh Market opened up in J.C. a few months ago, and guess what, Jeni's ice cream is now for sell by the pint there. I'm going tonight, mostly because my lunch break is already over.

 

Also, to further my obsession of my dog, erm Dillan, the husband has gotten on board with taking sappy photos of him. 

Which really resembles another photo, seen here.

A Few Friday Things

1. I am writing this post from my iPad. And it's weird. I have no idea how the font and such will turn out. Let's simply refer to it as the iPad experiment. 2. I am staying at my parents house today for my little sisters college graduation. She's grown up and educated and getting married and showing me pictures of the townhouse they might rent. Oh yeah and asking me about loan subsidizing and retirement plans. 3. My mom keeps my baby niece who is 9 months (ish) and a baby boy who's about 2 months (ish). And they are cute. And making me feverish. 4. I should have went to private school because graduates get a whole big weekend of events. Cookout at the presidents house, department banquet, baccalaureate, graduation breakfast, and outdoor graduation. Oh, and it's on something they call a "quad". Isn't that fancy. I want a quad.

My road toward craftiness...

As in, my road toward craftiness is not very promising and is off to a slow start if this is all I can come up with...

Anyway, last night I had a burst of inspiration in the midst of slowly watching every episode of Star Trek (I'm on episode 4). Shatner's hilarious.

Anyway, again...I'd tired of my kitchen sink looking like this:

Yes, it is gross, but I did wash this dishes before snapping this photo. You're welcome internets.

So I took a little planter not in use, wiped the 1 year caked on dirt off, cut my finger on a bit of chipped ceramic on the bottom, and finally resulted in this:

Three cheers for planters that hold scrubbing brushes and dish detergent!