Happy Wife = Happy Marriage

Thank you Stumble for another life-relevant web site for me to waste my time on. Between Facebook, Stumbleupon and Pinterest, sometimes I wonder how I get anything done. Anyways, I decided to post this list of 30 Ways to Keep HER Happy and 30 Ways to Keep HIM Happy. I find this especially relevant since we're still in wedding season and I've had quite a few friends and family members celebrating anniversaries lately. Below are the points I find most relevant in my own life... for the full list, go here.

30 Ways to Keep HER Happy

1. SMS her some love during the day.
I love getting texts and emails during the day. Not the "what are you fixing for dinner" kind, the "was just thinking about you" kind. 

3. Cook dinner from time to time. Husbands who cook have happier marriages.
Amen. Feel free husbands. I'm sure you can find your way around the kitchen.

4. Stay and help while cleaning up after meals. Many couples fight over cleaning up. If you do it together, it will take half the time.

6. Say "I love you" when you meet and when you say good-bye.
"Always kiss me goodnight."

9. When she is upset, listen to her but do not try to give advice (unless she asks for it).
How true! When I'm venting or upset about something, the last thing I want is advice. Just listen!!!

12. Write her love notes and put them in places where she would not expect to find them, like inside the laundry basket, on the mirror in the bathroom, inside her wallet or on the visor in her car.
Aww, I miss the days when sticky notes were hidden all over my dorm. :Sigh:

14. Offer some technical help if she is struggling with remotes, computers or electrical wiring.

15. Say something nice about her choice in clothes.
If I take the time to crawl out of my sweatpants and put some effort into my appearance, please make some indication that you've noticed.

17. Give her a massage.
Yaaaaaaaaaay back rubs!

18. You are strong and manly. Take the garbage out.
I'm no feminist, but I believe that if I'm going to be inside cooking meals, cleaning, laundry, etc... you manly men can take the trash out, cut the lawn and fix shit. 

21. Give her a kiss for no reason. Kiss for the love of kissing. Kiss in the morning and remember to always, always, always kiss at night before you fall asleep, even (especially) if you have just had a fight.

24. Learn how to use the washing machine and use it without being asked.
For real! I'll even leave detailed instructions for you. Trust me, it's not that hard.

28. Hold her hand even when there are people around. It is a public display of affection and this is important to her.
I'm not talking freshman hallway PDA, but a little TLC around the general population is always nice.

30. Keep a photo of her in your wallet.
Or on your desk... in your car. Somewhere that makes us think that you want to show us off. 

30 Ways to Keep HIM Happy

1. Give him some time to watch his favorite TV show (OK, shows).

Consider your Call Of Duty time a privilege. 

7. Tell him how much you love him. Say "I love you" when you meet and when you say good-bye, even on the phone.

8. Ask him about his day and listen.

11. Tell him he is right sometimes.

15. Make him his favorite dish and remember to tell him that you chose the dish especially for him.
Any time I can make dinner and not screw it up, it's a good day. Let's not get too choosey here. 

16. Wash his car as a surprise (or get the kids to do it for a double bonus).
I'm sorry, but a car full of Mt. Dew cans and hunting/fishing crap... no way in hell.

21. Get him his favorite after-shave before his old bottle runs out.
I'm pretty sure things applies to everything because if women didn't monitor things like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.... life would come to a screeching halt.

25. Make a genuine effort to get along with his mom.
I'm thinking this should go under ways to keep HER happy.

29. Touch him from time to time. When he is busy, just walk up to him and run your fingers through his hair.

Dining Room Facelift

When Clay and I first purchased our house, after weeks of carpet picnics, we finally bought a used dining room table and six chairs from a couple in Spring Lake. Wasn't in the greatest shape ever, but still looked very nice and was a reasonable price. Itching to start another project and my OCD kicking in, my brown dining room table needed a little TLC to match my black and white room.

A couple months ago, my mom and I started weekly paint dates to start stripping the varnish off, sanding out the dents and slapping on the black lacquer. Saturday we finally tackled the table and legs, successfully getting two coats on it in one day. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to let all the pieces hide out in my spare bedroom to fully cure before we use them. I can't wait to put everything back together and get it out into the dining room... but for now, here's a sneak peak.  :)

One table, three leaves, four legs and six chairs... just waiting to assemble.

Since our card table is supporting our painted dining room table, I guess the patio furniture is coming inside.

And no post is complete without at least one dog reference. Miss Zora is a huge baby. A huge, huge baby and I just love it. When she's not in puppy mode, she's a great cuddler. ;)

Big babies. xoxo

Pups + Stuff

Again, blogging failure. Every so often, I get into these funks where I have so many little projects going on at once and I have no clue how I let it get so out of control. Between scheduling dirt deliveries, renting bobcats, researching hydro-seeding, my long long overdue wedding album, refinishing the kitchen table, refinishing the bookshelf, editing photos for mom, blah blah blah etc. I think I need to use up my week of vacation to get my life in control. Speaking of vacation, I think our Cedar Point/West Virginia getaway is cancelled.  :(   Total bummer. Between needing the extra weekends for yard projects, finding a place for Zora to stay and weighing budgeting options... cancelled. I was really looking forward to it to. But oh well, sometime in the future I guess.

Hmm, what else. Miss Zora is growing more and more every day. Fatty pants is creeping up on the 50 lb. mark and is definitely at the peak of puppy stage. The digging is pretty excessive right now which does NOT please me especially with plans of hauling 200 cubic yards of dirt into our backyard over the next few weeks. Ooooh Miss Zora. If you plan on spending any time outside during our little landscaping fiesta, best not to lift a paw. She's been doing so well sleeping at night in our room and going into her crate in the mornings and at noon. I can't wait to see how she'll adjust if we leave her out of the crate while we're gone. Baby steps at first for sure, but I think/hope she'll adjust quickly.

I've been playing on this beach volleyball league at the Holland State Park the last few weeks. A girl from work asked me to join her team with a friend of hers and her boyfriend. Good competition, some crazy ass weather... fun times. Clay will actually be subbing for us tonight. I'm really excited since we've never actually played vball together. We use to just volley back and forth in the backyard, but nothing competitive. Should be lots of fun... hopefully the weather holds out.

Well, since I've been totally slacking on pup pictures, I'll post a few from the Harbor Humane Society today. I was quite shocked at the variety of breeds there right now. Usually it's chihuahuas, hounds and pits. Have a great day all!

Adam is a male Chihuahua mix.

Korso is a male Irish Wolfhound Terrier mix.

Lilly is a female Pit Bull Terrier.

Sahara is a female Basenji Labrador Retriever.

Sprinkles is a female Shepherd mix.

Trina is a female Chow Chow Labrador Retriever mix.

Willie is a male Pomeranian Finnish Spitz.

Rules on How to Live Simply

I stumbled across a website today listing 103 Essential Rules: How To Live Simply. I thought it was a pretty good list... especially for someone who piles way too many things on their plate and is a obsessive to do list creator. Although pretty much impossible for me to do, I know I need to learn to find more "me" time and clear my cluttered mind. So here's my condensed list as it pertains to my life:


Be frugal and stay out of debt. Debt hangs over your head like a nasty storm cloud. It keeps you from complete autonomy and makes you into a modern-day slave.


Wear it twice (or thrice). Apparently, this rule doesn’t apply to underwear.

I wish my husband lived by this rule. I wear the same clothes, oh, let's just say a day or two or three more than I probably should. Most of my work clothes get hung back up as soon as I get home and I slip into the same sweats and tshirt I've been wearing all week. Hey, don't judge. Less laundry that way.

Treat everything as an end in itself. Do something because you enjoy it, or because it’s important to you.


Unless it’s urgent, cancel the meeting. Meetings are 95% a waste of time. Send a memo instead and ask for a brief response in writing.
OMG, I wish everyone at work would live by this rule. Do not block off 60 minutes of my day to tell me you need a sign X" by X" signs that needs to say "Y." Email people. Email!!!

Be authentically yourself. You’re you for a reason. Don’t put on a mask, hide your emotions, or put on a show. Just be you.
I wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm an emotional train wreck 99% of the time. I'm obsessed with dogs. I'm generally not a fan of people. That's me. Deal with it.

Quit multi-tasking. Sometimes it’s OK, but most of the time, it’s just keeping you from doing one thing really, really well.

Keep a small inner circle of trusted friends. Social media makes us think we can be friends with everyone. You can’t, unless everyone gets a really small piece of you.
I have a veeeery small circle. My family, Moose and some co-workers. That's it. Works for me.

Buy a quality pair of jeans and wear them out. You’ll get a sense of completion. Satisfying, in a strange zen-like way.
Especially when extra-tall jeans are a bazillion dollars, you will wear them until every seam is ripped out.

Find a job you love. Time is a precious resource but your boss might not think so. Find a job you won’t dread on Monday mornings, or else, make one.
Check. I am so blessed to have a job I love. 

Don’t wish away your today’s for tomorrow’s. It doesn’t hit most people until it’s too late, but life is a blessed gift. Just enjoy it my friend.


Focus on the essential. Make room for health, faith, fun, giving, laughing, loving, reading, and chasing your dreams.


Pray like you mean it, and then listen. We are more than flesh and bones. Faith gives meaning to the world around us.

Dear baby Jesus, I have sucked at going to church lately. Forgive me. I will try to do better.   :(

Give until it hurts, and then, just a little more. Your happiness is so intricately tied to the happiness of others, that it doesn’t make sense to live any other way.


Do what you love and then get paid for it. If you had the choice, wouldn’t you. You do, now go.


Make your own gifts, and don’t be afraid to mess up. Sometimes its the imperfections that add character. Guy’s note this: girls will think it’s cute anyway.

Linger at the dinner table. There’s something about sharing a meal together that makes you family. Make this time sacred.

I think dinner time is so important. With everyone's crazy schedules, I think the dinner table is the only time where a family can get together, talk about their day and enjoy each other's company. Essential for creating a close family.

Stop consuming, create something. Consuming is passive and leaves you emptier. Creating awakens you from the inside out.


Go with the flow, bro. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, something will change. Life is best enjoyed in the moment.


Check your email once a day, at most. Compulsive email checking is an epidemic. Quit cold turkey.

Yeah right. I want to know in what career/social circles can you get away with only checking emails once a day. Um, definitely not gonna happen.

Leave white space in your day. There should be space between the events in your day to leave room for taking it all in.


Be faithful to one spouse. Love their guts out. In fact, go give them a hug right now. Not just today, do this every day for the rest of your life.
Trust and being faithful, among other key things, are crucial to a successful marriage. Love never fails!

Chubby cheeks + belly laughs.

I know I've had quite a few posts about furry kids since I started this blog (well, none too recently... sorry). However, today I want to talk about a different kind of kid.... BABIES! Cute, squish their faces, belly laughs and bubbles kind of babies! I think there are roughly 8 of my Facebook friends right now that are pregnant.... some being veeeeeery pregnant. Especially with Moose expecting, I've had baby brain for quite some time now. Everywhere I go... babies! I recently started following a few baby boards on Pinterest which doesn't make things any better. Greeted daily by pictures of dozens of sleeping newborns and pig-tailed toddlers... gah... almost more than my ovaries can handle.

I can't wait to have kids. Yes, mom and dad, I know you two can't wait either. My dad sent me a picture of him holding his neighbors new baby the other day and it was just the cutest damn thing ever. My parents are going to be the most awesome grandparents. Dear future child, you will be spoiled rotten... prepare yourself. 

On a sad note, my sister-in-law mentioned this blog that she was following called Just For The Record. This family of four found out that new baby has a failing liver. Absolutely heartbreaking, but this family is full of fighters and I will be keeping them in my prayers. I loved reading this blog and looking at all the photos Ani takes. Her girls are so photogenic and beautiful. A great read, I recommend it. 

Being an avid searcher of cool DIY ideas, I stumbled across this great site for crafty expecting mothers... Chic & Cheap Nursery. Awesome nursery decorating ideas, color schemes, DIY wall art... well, at least I thought it was pretty cool. Well, suppose I should go be productive. I promise to get back to my usual pup pictures soon. Take it easy!