Muskegon weekend.

While Clay had his guy weekend, Miss Zora and I spent Saturday with my mom, Zayla and Peanut. I have a confession to make: chasing three dogs around the house for an entire day makes my achy-womb syndrome disappear almost completely. Talk about exhausting! Chasing three dogs around the house, keeping Zora from swatting at Peanut's eyes (just had cataracts surgery), making sure there were no accidents in my mom's house and trying to get her to see that biting at Zayla did not make her want to play was just about all I could handle.

My mom and I took Zora down to the doggy beach at Bronson Park later on in the evening. Talk about a wuss dog! I'm pretty sure she is the only dog in history that leaves the beach without even so much as her toes wet. I really really want her to like the water, but she was having none of it. Maybe her full speed leap into my parent's pool scared the crap out of her and she'll forever have this fear of water. :(

After the doggy beach, we decided Zora need to have her first visit to Frosty Oasis. She loves ice cream.... naturally, she's my doggy. Finally got over to PetSmart and got her an ID tag.... Zora Archambault. (Someone's gotta uphold the A Z initials.) Last stop on our way home was going to see my cousin's new apartment. Her and her husband have been on the East side of the state for the last couple years and they're finally back home! Zora was very excited to meet more family as usual.

Momma holding her granddogger.

Well folks, my super burned body needs to go hunt down some more aloe. Hope everyone has a fantastic upcoming week! xoxo

Baby Moose!

People! I have neglected to announce some super awesome news that has already been Facebook official for 4 days now! Shameful. Without further ado..... my super bestest friend ever is.... *insert drum roll here* going to have a baby! Woooooooooooot!

I received a call from her, oh some handful of weeks ago and was given the good news. I'm so excited for her especially since this happy news is long overdue! Baby is due towards the end of December, but it's already been decided (by me) that it'll be born on my birthday, December 11. Because I said so.

Moose, if you're reading this, once the baby excitement/holiday shenanigans have calmed down, I'm saving my vacation days for a long overdue, much needed Florida vacation sometime in January. Plan accordingly. Please note: You + me + baby + palm trees = I may never leave. ;)

Anyways, a super huge congratulations to Phil and Sarah and future baby moose. I can't wait to meet you. xoxo

Congratulations to my best friend and mom-to-be!

Zora's first week

Zora has officially been part of our family for a full week now. It's pretty hard to believe since she has adapted so well and is learning new things so quickly. We're still working on getting her housebroken, but she's learning to go to the sliding door and either bark or swat at her bell to let us know she wants to go outside. She's still doing really well in her crate at night when it's in our bedroom, but I'm a little nervous she has separation anxiety during the day. I've been coming home at lunch every day and as soon as I let her out of her crate, she completely freaks out. It makes me feel even worse when I have to put her back in the crate after lunch is over. I hope she learns quickly that she only has to be in the crate for a few hours before someone comes home. Makes me sad. :(

On Sunday for Father's day, Zora and I took our first car ride together to Muskegon. I let her sit in the front seat with me; however, she's not a very good co-pilot. I think she was awake for the first 45 seconds or so, then slept the rest of the way. I think I need a bigger front seat, it took her a little bit to figure out which way to curl up on it so she could all fit. It was nice to have some company on the trip. :)

Car ride with mommy.

A couple nights this week, we have family TV time downstairs. Zora does really well not getting on our furniture until she knows we've put down her blanket or a sheet. Although we have two couches down there, we like to all cram on one couch. Why do we have to cram, you might ask? Well, Miss Zora likes to take up at least half the couch while Clay and I have to share one cushion. That's ok, though, we heart her. xoxo

Miss Zora sprawled out on the couch.

She's obviously a puppy based on the amount of sleep she's getting... and she dreams so hard! Clay and I like to watch her when her legs start running in her sleep and she makes the cutest noises. She's definitely a daddy's girl. After TV time done, she just stares at us when we say it's time to go upstairs. She knows Clay will come pick her up like a baby and carry her upstairs. Wouldn't want her to exert any unnecessary energy now!  :)

Sooooo tired. Good thing Daddy carries me to bed.

Zora also had her first trip to the vet with us on Tuesday. She did really well getting her shot and let the vet check her out real well. She has some large red spots on her legs that worried me, but the vet said they were just sand gnat bites and are pretty common and don't effect her at all. We also found out she has hookworm, so we're in the process of treating that. Other than that, she's a healthy, happy pup. 

Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

As if Mondays aren't crappy enough, I started out mine with an extra dose of crappy... literally. We're working really hard with Zora to get her housebroken. We went two full days without any accidents and thought that we were heading in the right direction. This morning I got out of bed right before Clay left for work. He and Zora were out in the kitchen when I got a whiff of something pretty bad. At first I thought maybe the dog had gas... until I saw my white living room carpet. Even in the glow of the street lamp, I could tell this was going to be a rough morning. Miss Zora is currently getting weaned off of her old dog food and onto new stuff and it's making her poo a bit... er, soft.  Ok, enough sugar coating it... I had liquid dog shit covering about a 5 square foot area of my white carpet. Oh hello Mondays, we meet again.

Clay ended up coming home for lunch today, so I didn't get my mid-day spoon fest with Miss Zora. I missed her bunches. We just got back from our walk and I think with a little more training, she'll be a great jogging buddy. That is, if I ever get into jogging.  ;)  Today's featured furry kids are a few Chihuahuas from Noah's Project in Muskegon. We adopted Zayla from Noah's Project several years ago and that was my first gut-wrenching experience with animal shelters. Going there was what made me really want to make a difference and encourage people to look at rescuing animals as opposed to getting them from breeders. 

ChaCha is a female Chihuahua.

Luna is a female Chihuahua.

Tilly is a female Chihuahua Yorkshire Terrier Yorkie mix.

Zora ♥

Well few and faithful followers, I finally can write about MY OWN DOG! Clay and I finally adopted our own furry kid this week. We started looking through PetFinder for female puppies. At first we came across this dog, Fauna, and really had our hearts set on her. Even picked out a new name for her... Kahlua. The rep for the Animal Placement Bureau said that another family was looking at her too. Slightly discouraged and looking for a second choice, we stumbled across Grizzly... one of Fauna's sisters. We immediately fell in love with her distinct and interesting look. More and more eager to meet her, we placed her as #1 on our list.

Last Sunday we drove to Lansing to the APB Pet Parade. Talk about love at first site. We were able to take Grizzly out of her play pen and interact with her for quite awhile. Like I mentioned in my previous post, these dogs raised strictly in foster homes rather than shelters were so incredibly tame, socialized, friendly... you name it. We asked Julianne (Grizzly's foster mom) if we could continue on with the adoption process. Julianne and her husband made the trip to Holland on Wednesday night (6/15) to do a house check and finalize the adoption.

Without further ado... the newest member of the Archambault family.... Zora. ♥

Zora, like Zorro because of the mask, is a 4 month old Husky/German Shepherd/Pit Bull/Boxer/Lab mix. (Phew!) We absolutely love her! She's such a quick learner, does really well in her crate at night (as long as she can be in our room with us), interacts great with Peanut and Zayla, is gentle around the little kids and is just generally a fantastic dog. She's has even made amazing progress in housebreaking over the last several days. We are so truly blessed to have such a wonderful dog in our lives! 

Speaking of being wonderful, it's only fitting that this special furry kid have a big yard to run around in. Drum roll please.... OUR FENCE IS DONE! Clay and I took Friday off of work to help mom and dad Z start on the fence. We continued and wrapped up the fence today thanks to the help of some of our family members and friends. Couldn't have done it without you guys! In two days, we put up 185' of privacy fence and 200' of chain link fence around our backyard. It looks just so incredible!!!!! 

Next on the project list: In the fall, we're going to rototill our entire backyard, bring in a large amount of black soil, level the yard, then hydroseed. We need some grass people!! Until then though, I will enjoy my beautiful new fence. 

Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

Happy Monday folks! Eww, yes, Monday. Please keep your groans to a minimum. I have an interesting week coming up. Super swamped at work right now with various projects all creeping up oh-so-fast as well as some sort of work sponsored luncheon every day this week. I already told the scale this morning that I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall off the boat... hard core. Oh well. Operation fence begins Friday morning bright and early... continues Saturday. Offer's still open to anyone who wants to eat, drink and build a fence!

Lately, I've been broadening my search on PetFinder.com to look at more dogs than just the ones at Harbor Humane. I've come across some of the cutest dogs lately both online and at Sunday's Petapalooza. So, this week's featured furry kids are brought to you from the Animal Placement Bureau. They are a system of foster homes that take care of these dogs and are based in Lansing. I highly suggest taking a look at these dogs... especially if you are looking at a family addition. I attended APB's Pet Parade yesterday and was amazed at the difference between dogs that are kept in kenneled shelters vs. foster homes. All these dogs, regardless of size, breed or age, were so "broken-in." Calm, lovable, no jumping, no barking, no pulling on their leash... the difference was so obvious. So take a look at these loves. xoxo

Anise is a female American Pit Bull Terrier Shar Pei mix.

Fauna is a female Boxer Shepherd Husky mix.

Kingston is a male American Pit Bull Terrier.

Spike is a male Chihuahua.

Zora is a female Pit Bull Terrier Labrador Retriever Boxer mix.

DIY: Paper Gift Bows

A few months ago, I started bookmarking some cool DIY craft projects I stumbled across online. I seem to go through spurts of different interests and love to find things that keep my hands busy. Crafty projects are my favorite and yes, I do copy other people's ideas instead of coming up with my own. Common misconception: being a graphic designer does NOT mean I'm artistic. I can't draw. I can't paint. I don't come up with arts and crafts projects on a whim. So I steal other people's projects and make 'em my own.

Because I know I ramble on and on and on about dogs and my house projects, I thought sharing some of my favorite DIY craft projects would be a good idea. I'll give 'em a shot and let you know how things turn out. Without further ado...

Find a bright, colorful page out of a magazine... any size will work. Just a heads up, the cheap newsprint type paper will work, but it's super flimsy and not as fun to work with. The thicker, semi-gloss stock works the best. You'll also ned something to cut with, scotch tape, a ruler and stapler.

Cut the page into nine 3/4" wide strips. Leave three of them the original length, cut 1" off three of them, cut 2" off two of them and cut the last strip so that it is only 3.5" long.

Next, twist the eight long strips into a figure eight (graphic side facing out). 

You can either tape or staple the ends in place. I think tape is cleaner.

Now, keeping the same lengths together, arrange them in a flower-like shape and tape/staple them together as shown in the picture. Yes, the graphics will be pointing down, but it'll work. No fear.

Repeat the flower-like process with the next size strips and again with two shortest strips. You will tape each group of strips within the large group you just did. (Hope that makes sense.) 

Take the 3.5" strip and tape it into a circle. This circle fits nicely right in the center of the rest of your strips. 

Ta da! Paper gift bows made from magazine pages! My personal tip: don't pay too much attention to words or other not-so-cool items on the page. Chances are they'll end up on the inside of the boy or will get cut off. Large, colorful graphics have always worked out best for me. 

5?F

Alas, Friday has arrived... although I was pretty positive that Friday was yesterday. Well, at least it seemed like it. Last night, Clay and I went downtown to see the street performers. It was pretty fun... something different at least. Got to hear some people sing, pet a few doggies and got a Gentex balloon. Yeah, I'm that cool. Tonight's plans include hanging out with mom and continuing to paint the kitchen table. With all the chairs finally done, we're onto the table and leaves. Hopefully it stops raining so we can paint outside vs. the dirty garage.

T-minus one week until fence installation begins! Woo hoo! I have Friday off and am ready to get to work. Unfortunately, we ran into some snags with fence prep and we may have to move a few sprinkler lines. I can only guess who the lucky one will be that gets to dig trenches. Yaaaay me! :(

Today is my nephew Jarrett's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday buddy! There's a party for him tomorrow and on Sunday, Clay and I are going on a super top secret mission. Yes, a secret mission. No one knows about it. Let's just say I'm super excited and am hoping everything works out so I can spill the beans. (No mom, no grandbabies). Stay tuned! Have a great weekend everyone! xoxo

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?
My childhood dreams were to graduate college, get a great job, get married, get a dog and have some kids. My dreams are about 85% complete. My whole life is going to plan more than I could have ever hoped for. There are days when I'm just completely dumbfounded when I think about how awesome my life is. The only things are are missing or haven't happened yet are getting a dog, having some kids and convincing Moose and Phil to move to Holland.  ;)

2. What is one must have item for the summer?
Usually, I'd say flip flops. Flip flops always mean summer is here and my not-so-cute-toes love to be free. However, this year's ultimate summer must-have is my fence! (And eventually some grass). There's nothing I love more than spending a hot summer's day outside. A fully functioning lawn means some privacy when I want to lay out and a doggy.

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)
Hell no. Mom and dad were like, "Go outside! Be free!"

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?
I eventually want to plant a garden and can my own fruits and veggies. Fruits? Veggies? Andrea? Ok, so I really just mean yellow beans and hopefully some sort of berry. Someday...

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?
Um, yeah. Here's why. When I wake up, first things I think of are peeing and coffee (and not necessarily in that order). I would immediately go start the coffee, but running water makes me have to pee more. Well, can't travel out into the kitchen without contacts in because I'm pretty sure I'm legally blind and I can't put contacts in without washing my face and I can't wash my face without pulling my hair back, but I can't always pull back my hair if I don't have my contacts in. Gah! Such a vicious circle! ;) But yes, the basics are as far as I go to "get ready" for the day. Weekends don't even include changing out of my sleeping sweats... they just become all day sweats. I'm kinda lazy, sorry.

Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

Yes kids, don't fret, I will be returning to HHS this evening after a two week hiatus. With everything else that's going on in life, things just got a little crazy. I'm really starting to keep a close eye out for potential pets since we're so close on getting our fence installed. I can't wait to have a dog. I spent the weekend with mom, Peanut and Zayla and it just kills me to go back to a dogless home. :(  I especially want a dog before hunting season starts. With Clay gone all day every day, it gets a little lonely at home. Besides, talking to a dog looks a lot better than just talking to myself. :P

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday! Much love... xoxo

Faith is a female Pit Bull Terrier mix.

Martina is a female Labrador Retriever.

Roxy is a female French Bulldog Bull Terrier mix.

Sarah is a female Labrador Retriever.

Terry is a male Labrador Retriever Beagle mix.

5?F

I know it'll only be Friday for another hour and a half, but better late than never... right? Super busy day at work today followed up running errands, cleaning house, dinner and cutting Clay's hair. However, now I'm finally in my jammies, watchin' Glee season 2 and catching up on life.

1. Most inspirational quote for you.

I LOVE quotes... lots of them. And there have been tons over the course of my young life that have hit close to home and got me through some obstacles in my life. One in particular is:

The Greeks didn't write obituaries, they only asked one question after a man died, "did he have passion?"

No matter what you do in life, do it with love, passion and your whole heart. xoxo

2. Favorite inspirational film?

Eh... not sure I really have one. If I had to chose one... probably Miracle. 

3. Who has inspired you, and why?

Oh man, I could ramble on forever on this topic... but to keep it short and sweet, my mom and dad. They are truly such incredible people and I couldn't ask for better parents. Supportive, loving, giving... my best friends. I only hope that someday I can be the same to my children. I love you both! 

4. If you were to die tomorrow and would have ONE saying that would live on forever, what would you leave behind? 

I'm not really good with words... but something along the lines of, "Be happy no matter what and always thank God for the many blessings he has given you."

5. What inspires you to continue, when you feel the least motivated (in whatever goal you are trying to accomplish)? 

Kinda depends what it is. Talking to my mom always gets me back on track and she does a great job at reminding me what my goals are.