the $39 experiment.

I stumbled across this blog last night & found it really interesting. Of course, it's a few years old now & maybe the companies reactions would be different if the experiment was re-done now. You know, with the economy the way it is & all. I was a little shocked that some of the bigger, popular companies like Hershey, General Mills, Subway, Kraft, etc rejected the letter. Maybe they get tons of requests for freebies daily & of course, this was an experiment, but what if it had been a loyal customer with a valid compliment? Doesn't say much for these big companies. Really interesting to think about & hey, $200+ in freebies isn't a bad deal either! But as he says

this experiment was less about getting free stuff and more about seeing which companies would actually send me free stuff.

my tat. [link party]

feeling ok about it

definitely not feeling ok about it

I got my first tattoo (I say first but it's my only for now, although I have several more planned) on vaca in Miami Beach in January 2010. It wasn't really planned in that I walked in to "just look" but it was kinda planned in that I had been thinking about it the whole drive down [yes, this is before I flew so we drove all the way to  Miami Beach].

Afterwards my brother decided to get one as well but he already has several so it was nothing for him.

Then we hit up a bar. I forgot all about the pain. Bars are open late there.

returning to hotel at like 4 a.m.

Shakespeare from "Alls Well that Ends Well"

dining room turned office.

Previously I mentioned the old dining room was becoming our new "office." Even though TJ's office is downstairs, he wanted a home office area. Because one flight of stairs is too long of a commute, right?

Also we were informed the location of our treadmill (living room) would have to be moved (to the spare bedroom ie my scrapbook room) because the weight wasn't supported on that end of the house & I didn't want to go crashing through the floor 2 miles into my run & land in the middle of TJ's conference room below. So the treadmill got moved to the spare bedroom (FKA my scrapbook room) & my scrapbook room got moved to the dining room, which is now our office space. The dining room got moved to a previously unused area, but that's for another day.

So we painted last weekend & worked on polyurethane on the floors. It had to be done in two sections because it's such a big space which meant moving all the furniture to one side of the room & then moving all the furniture to the other side of the room. It took two weekends. Finally Saturday night we were done with the floors & when we woke up Sunday we began moving furniture into our new office...

office before it became an office

office now!

Please ignore that massive mess - I'm in the middle of many projects for my bff's fundraiser for the local animal shelter!

TJ is still searching for his perfect desk for his home office but I am super happy with my new scrapbooking space. It's more a part of the kitchen/living area & less all the way down the hall secluded which I think will make me more productive all the way around.

TeBoW. aMeN.

Source: Uploaded by user via Tempa on Pinterest

Polar Bear 5k

painting the dining room.

before

before

This is long overdue. I have hated this wall color since I moved in. It's hideous. We've had a lot of other projects that have taken priority but 8 months later (& because we're re-arranging the entire place) we finally got to it. I figured if we have to move everything out of the room, we may as well paint it while it's empty. So Thursday at 6a.m. (before TJ had court) we went to Menards. Generally I like Valspar paint, which Lowes carries, but we had rebates to use at Menards. So we went with Grand Distinction paint & primer in one in Khaki Stone in eggshell. It looks more like wet cement on the paint swatch & on the walls it looks more blue. Oh well. We still primed the walls & then only used one coat of Khaki Stone. I thought it might look more grey if we used two coats but I'm tired of painting.

Also, this is no longer going to be our dining room. Hello, new "office" space. My scrapbooking area + TJ's home office area.

after

after

I'm linking to Addicted 2 Decorating  link party!

thankful Thursday.

+ Mom helping me prime & paint the dining room today.

+ Our rebates from Menards that helped pay for primer, paint, & supplies.

+ Finding awesome lighting like this one from Shades of Light at the local Treasure Mart for only $20!

+ Selling some things on garage sale sites via Facebook & earning some extra cash!

+ Getting to sleep uninterrupted Wednesday after working 16 hours Tuesday night.

+ My amazing boyfriend who helps with the laundry, making dinner, & walking Bentley.

T minus 18 days

We booked a vacation to the Bahamas for Jan 22.

My dad got me a gift card to Express for Christmas so I am waiting for these two cute shirts to be delivered:

Can't wait for some beach time in the sun!

Polar Bear 5k race recap.

Yesterday we ran the Polar Bear 5k. It was actually a ride & a run, sponsored by a local bike club, but we aren't in the condition to ride our bikes (one of my tires is flat) & we don't have those expensive, light weight serious bikes anyway. So we would've died.

Anyway, I ran about 60 miles last year (taking off June - November with no explanation) so my goal this year is to double that. & so I signed us up for this run several weeks in advance & then ran very little in order to prepare. TJ ran even less than I did. We did go for a run the night before with Bentley & ran about 1.5 miles, which I felt really good.

The morning of the run it was 47 degrees (felt like 37 degrees with the wind chill), super windy (wind gusts up to 40 mph). The bicycle ride had basically destroyed everyone so there was one guy from the ride who also was participating in the run with us. That made the total participants 3.

& he dropped out after 1 mile.

So we ran alone. & we won the race!

Our time was 34:36 which is not great but my PR last year was 30:59 so with more running I will get better. I never would've finished, probably wouldn't even have started, if TJ wasn't doing it with me & it was brutal. The wind was ridiculous & sometimes I felt like I wasn't moving forward at all. But we did it, finished, & we're proud of ourselves. We even got some info about signing up for the local running club & we're seriously considering it.

2011 recap.

1 speeding ticket. (to start the year, thanks.)
vacations to: Cancun (Jan),  Daytona Beach (Feb), Dallas (Nov).
also trips to: Chicago, Hammond, Elizabeth, Cincinnati.
concerts: 7
Gary Allan: 3 (which brings my total to 7).
1 wedding.
first 5k race (& PR!).
first Ikea experience (with several subsequent trips).
signed up with the humane society to volunteer.
2 NFL games (preseason Colts/Bengals, regular season Colts/Bengals).
1 Sugarland stage collapse.
2 dogs fostered & 1 dog adopted.
met TJ & moved in together.
59.1 miles ran. [goal for 2012 is to double that!]

circle of lights.

Choco got a new home!

An amazing couple from Ohio came to meet Choco this afternoon. I have been praying all week that they would be perfect for him.

I loved them & so did he. He runs marathons. They have an acre of land for him to play. No kids or other dogs so he will be spoiled rotten.

I am sad because I will miss him... he is such a sweet, great, super handsome, gentle, lovable boy. But I am so, so happy for him. He deserves this.

I hope they email me updates.

meet Choco.

We got a call Saturday asking us to foster Choco for the holidays. He is a two year old pretty chocolate Lab. Much more calm than Bentley, which makes me think he is actually a couple years older. Still in need of obedience classes but he does know "sit" (with encouragement) & he knows "come" very well. He is used to riding in the car & does not need to be restrained. He pulls a little bit while walking on a leash but does very well with a gentle leader. Choco was surrendered due to owner illness & now is in search of a new home. He is more gentle when playing with Bentley & submissive with Bentley. I think he would do find in a home with other dogs. He is housebroken & although doesn't need a crate, I am teaching him to go into the crate. We're not comfortable leaving him home alone to wonder while Bentley is crated. We were told he would refuse a crate but I worked with him for about 15 mins last night & (along with a hotdog as a reward) he now goes into the crate. He does bark/whine for about 10 mins but then settles in. He is neutered & microchipped. Choco is a sweet boy with a precious chocolate face who needs someone with patience while he is still learning & adjusting because he hasn't been socialized very well yet.

Here he is on the Love of Labs website.

our tree.

angel tree girl.

I started this two years ago & I have so much fun. This year I adopted a 10 year old girl. On her list were her clothing sizes (the focus is on new clothing), jewelry, & a bike. Buying clothing for a stranger makes me nervous - what if it doesn't fit? I hope it fits & that she likes it! I found this super cute vest at Old Navy & got her a matching long sleeve shirt. I figure when it warms up she can still wear the shirt by itself. & then I found a pretty bracelet at Justice, which I think she'll love. I'm hoping next year maybe I can adopt two children to help for Christmas.