No Painting for Me

The thought of going to school to paint today did cross my mind. It was a fleeting thought as the muscles in my shoulders and my arms were begging me to take a day off. So, I opted not to go to school and instead took Bandit to the dog park. My boyfriend went with me, which I was really happy about. Bandit did really well and seemed to like it a lot. It's an off-leash dog park which I was a little worried about, but he was great. When we first got there, we were met by two dogs off-leash (we were still on the leash). The first one was a big Akiak looking dog and the other one was a Papillon. The Akiak was the first one to come up to us and Bandit did really well. I think once the Papillon came up he was a little overwhelmed and freaked out a bit. He growled and did a snap (at no one in particular). I pulled him away and everyone was fine.

This dog park has a big open area to run around with your dogs in. It has water for the dogs and bags to pick up their... you know. Then there are also trails all around to walk through. We played in the open area and tried to get Bandit to chase some tennis balls we brought, but he had nothing to do with them. This first picture shows Bandit running free without his leash. He was loving being able to run around without being tethered to one of us. It took him a little while to get used to the fact that he could run around and not stick close by.

This second picture shows him and my boyfriend. I think my boyfriend had the tennis ball in his hand and was trying to get Bandit to play with him, but Bandit wasn't very interested in it. There was one point when a man came back from his walk with a huge Airedale. Now this was one dog that could eat my dog in one bite. Bandit paid attention as they walked to their car, but didn't make any move to attack the dog or run after him. I was really nervous and wanted to put him back on his leash, but my boyfriend convinced me to just let him go and that if he ran after the Airedale, the Airedale could easily protect himself and didn't need us to have him on a leash. I was so proud that Bandit didn't do anything.

This next picture shows me running with Bandit. Sometimes it takes someone starting to run to get Bandit running. He isn't a dog that just runs on a whim. To get him to really run around, I would start running and tell him to come here and he would start running. He is super fast and it was hard for me to keep up.

This picture is of me trying to run and get Bandit to follow me. I started running and yelling at him to follow, but he just stood there and stared at me. My boyfriend thought it was funny and decided to take a picture. I guess it's a good thing there wasn't a tree or anything in the way because I would have plowed into it.

After running around the open area for a while, we decided to pick a path and see where it lead us. Bandit chose this path and we decided to take it. He would stop about every 5 steps to smell and pee. He did really well about keeping pretty close to us. He would get a few steps ahead or a few steps behind, but no running off like a wild-man or anything like that.

I just loved this picture. We were behind him and I just thought his little puppy butt was so cute walking down the path, so I had to snap a picture :)

My boyfriend and Bandit got a little further ahead of me and I loved the way they looked walking together. I went to snap this picture and Bandit stopped to look back, as if to say "Catch up, mommy."

If anyone has met my dog, they know that he is prissy. He hates walking through tall grass and especially hates wet grass. He was high stepping for quite a while at the beginning and I was pretty surprised when he veered off our path into some super high grass off to the side. I was going to get a picture of him in the grass, but he had been in there too long and needed to get out as soon as possible, so I got him in a mid-leap.

The little guy was getting tired by this point (notice the long pink tongue) and had fallen behind a little bit. This is actually a picture of me turned around and him running to catch up with us. He had nothing to worry about... I wouldn't leave him. :)

And now, for my favorite pictures! We found this field with huge round haybails and for whatever reason I said I would like a picture of us on top of them. I was getting ready to climb up and before my foot got started climbing, my boyfriend told me to watch out for hay snakes. I froze immediately and said "Really? There are hay snakes around here?" He burst out laughing and informed me that he had made it up on the spot... So, I am a little gullible. Anyways, I got to the top and my boyfriend lifted Bandit up and all Bandit was interested in was rolling in the hay. I finally got him to sit still enough for two pictures. Then he jumped down on his own with no help... I on the other hand needed my boyfriend to help and when he came over, I started to fall and wrapped myself around his head. He had to pry me off his head and help me down like a normal person. Anyways.... he are the pictures. Enjoy!

Overall, the day was much better spent at the dog park then getting high off the fumes of paint in my classroom. I hope to get some things done soon enough and have my painting done for good eventually. :)

Painting but no Pictures

So, I made it to school today. I painted at school today. I brought my camera with me to school today. My memory card had a vacation at home today. :(

I am so close to being done with painting!! I have two shelves that need stars on the tops and I got one coat of paint on the cabinets. I don't know if you have ever tried to paint cabinets without taking the doors off, but it's hard and messy. Now, if it were up to me, I would have taken the doors off, but the layers of 100 year old paint had a different idea. The screws and hinges were so painted over that I couldn't even get a screwdriver to stay in the indention of the top of the screw (I know that has to be the formal name for it). So anyways, I am hoping to get up there tomorrow to finish all the painting. I am tired of having my arms aching and am getting a little burnt out of this whole painting thing, so the sooner I am finished, the better. I will probably take the week off from school (considering the 28 hour week at Hallmark next week) and make sure that everything is super dry before I start loading the shelves back up. Hopefully I will also bring my memory card with me so I can actually get some pictures for you to see the finished products.

Anywho, it's late and I am tired and need to get mentally prepared to go back to the classroom and paint tomorrow, so I am off to bed.

Have a great night and I hope to have some pictures for you tomorrow!!

Happy Wednesday!

Today my emergency fund took a somewhat large hit. I took my car in for an oil change and a brake inspection and 2 hours and $575 later, my oil is changed and my brakes are just fine. No, the oil change didn't cost that much, but I did get 3 new tires (I got 1 new tire back in June and it was still fine), a new air filter, a new belt, 2 new tag lights (the lights that illuminate your license plate), an oil change, and an alignment for my new (and old) tires. The guy said that my tires were wearing at an angle and that the outer part of my tire was wearing quicker than the inner part of my tire. He took me out to my car and showed me the tires and explained everything to me (I ::heart:: Midas). So, I went ahead and had them do all the work. He also said that one of the belts in my engine had quite a few cracks in it, but was not fraying yet. I went ahead and had them replace it, as I am of the thought that I would rather spend the money now and not get stranded on the side of the road. I am very happy with the work that Midas does. They gave me 2 new tag lights, but only charged me for 1 and also gave me a $30 discount.

Even with that, the total was still more than I was looking to spend today, but this is why I have my emergency fund. I will be able to pay off my CC bill without having to worry about where the money is coming from. I will have to work a little bit harder to get my fund back where I want it by the end of the year, but since I have a 28 hour work week at Hallmark next week and then a 14 hour week the next, I should be ok. All of the money I make from Hallmark goes straight into my savings (as I don't need it to live on). I have only been working about 9 hours a week this whole summer and with those two big weeks, it will help get my emergency fund back to where it is now.

Other than that things are going well around here. I cleaned my room and vacuumed my apartment. I have some laundry in the washer/dryer and have taken out the trash. On my walk to the trash bin (at the very front of the apartment complex... and I live at the very back), Bandit was pulling me like crazy and not listening to the "close" command. I was carrying a rather large box and a bag of trash with me and I think he was trying to get away from those because on the walk back he was super. He stayed by me and didn't try to eat anyone. This is a big deal, as he didn't have his backpack on and usually when he walks without his backpack he pulls me like crazy. Also, when I got back from Midas he only jumped on me once! Woo-hoo! I am enjoying the little victories, as right now, that is all we have.

Things are pretty calm around here and I am hoping to get to school to do some painting tomorrow! I hope to have some pictures of some finished shelves and my classroom coming together soon :) Keep your eyes peeled for those!

In the meantime, enjoy your slice of life and I will leave you with a picture of my little cutie under the covers on my bed :) (He was trying to sleep but I wanted a picture)

I'm Back

I survived my weekend out in the boonies and actually had a wonderful time catching up with family and getting to know some extended family members that I had never really met before. My grandma really enjoyed having everyone together and celebrating her birthday. Her real one is not until July 24, and since I forgot to give her the card I made, I am going to put it in the mail tomorrow.



On the way out to where I was headed (nowhere), there is some amazing scenery. Some people will argue with me and say that the midwest and plains do not offer amazing scenery, but I beg to differ. One thing that I just love are the huge wind turbines. I had the chance to pull over and snap some pictures of them on my way back home. I can't believe how big they are. From this first picture, they do not seem much bigger than a power line or some other big thing that you can think of. But my next picture puts it in a bit more perspective. To the left of the wind turbine you can see a tiny powerline. Now, the powerline is a little bit farther back than the turbine, but they are so huge that it is about accurate. I don't know much about how these bad boys work or anything, but my dad said that on the inside there is actually an elevator so workers can get up and down in case they need to fix something. This picture is kind of dark and the turbines are actually white. It was humid (for the midwest) and so the sky wasn't super blue or clear. Also, I was on the side of a major interstate and was not looking to get photographer quality pictures.

Anyways, that was the fun for the weekend. The not so fun part of the weekend was leaving my makeup out in the boonies. Now, I am not sure where I left it (although it is narrowed down to two towns that are 7 miles apart... as those are the two towns we visited), but it is definitely not at home with me. Before I went to my part-time job today I had to run to CVS and restock makeup. I am lucky to not be a makeup junkie and was able to just replenish my basics. The really bad part is that I am really close to my $100 this week and it's only Tuesday. Groceries were expensive this past week, as I had to replenish some basics (olive oil, salad dressing, etc.) and then the makeup. I also have to buy some more painting supplies for my classroom and need to get an oil change. I am going to go over my $100 this week (which I also did last week by about $15). It is not terrible, as my budgeted $100 is a goal and is not an end-all to my money. I am definitely still on budget for this month and am feeling good about my money situation. I have some random income coming in next month that will be nice... I am getting paid from going to a conference a few weeks ago ($250), I should be getting some of my deposit from my old apartment back ($200) and I should be getting a rewards check from my credit card company- money back- ($250). I already have that money assigned a place to go, so I won't have to debate what to do with it. Most will go to different savings accounts, some will go to a gift for my boyfriend's birthday, and some will go to opening an IRA and a 403b. I will let you know how that goes :)

It's been a good day and we gave Bandit a bath (he was starting to smell). He did EXCELLENT at doggy class last night and we were so proud that he didn't eat any other dogs or people. He is also getting better at home and isn't going crazy at every little sound he hears and thinks is someone coming for him. The improvements are small but they make every day a little bit easier and a little bit more stress-free for me (definitely what I need).

I hope everyone had a great weekend (a few days ago) and that you are enjoying your slice of life!