Work In Progress

Getting Ready for Cold Weather

2010-09-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

Jack and Chloe know that it's about to get cold. They need to stay warm, but also need to have their paws free to play with their toys. So of course a regular old blanket just won't work...they need a Snuggie!

Jack

Chloe

Thank you Petsmart clearance aisle. :)

5 Things

2010-09-26T22:18:00.000-04:00

Today's post was inspired by my friend Katie over at "The Grateful Life". I think it's good to always remember that we have lots to be grateful for, even if some days we might forget it.

5 Things that I am GRATEFUL for today:

5. Fall Weather
I love jeans and sweatshirt kinda weather! And of course Fall means football, chili, windows open, Halloween, and best of all our Anniversary :) I'm grateful that the seasons change and life carries on.

4. Mindy
My dear friend Mindy is moving away tomorrow to pursue a great career opportunity...we are all going to miss her so much! Mindy is a great person and a great friend and she deserves the best! Good luck to you Mindy! I'm so grateful for our friendship and your sweet smiling face :)

3. Starbucks Toffee Mocha
If you haven't tried this new coffee you should! It's just delicious, wish I could have one every morning. I've only had it hot, but I think it would be pretty good iced as well. I'm grateful that I get to enjoy this buttery goodness!

2. Sleeping Dogs
Both of the poochies are passed out right now, which is a good thing because that means some peace and quiet for me. All day long they either fight each other (in a playful, fun way) or follow me around, competing for my attention. Although I'm grateful for the companionship, they can be a bit much sometimes.

1. My Husband
Sundays with my hubby are great! It's about the only time we have a whole day together, and we have a huge list of things we want to get done...and only accomplish about 25% of them...but oh well! I'm grateful that we can do nothing and still have a great time. I definitely married my best friend :)

I'm Back!

2010-08-17T23:22:00.000-04:00

This blogger has been slacking! (Slacking so much that my background image disappeared and I didn't even notice, oops!) I think I'm having a blog identity crisis...struggling with what I should even blog about. I follow so many people's blogs and think they are so informative and entertaining...but mine kind of sucks. Except for my Jack-isms, I heart those. So I decided it was time for a blog makeover. Welcome to: Work In Progress! My re-vamped blog is going to be visually pretty simple...cut and dry...black and white...kinda square, like me!

As far as content, I've decided that this blog will simply be my point of view about a variety of things and how those things help me PRO-GRESS in my life. The new title pretty much sums up how I feel about myself and the fact that I am open to learning new things, taking on new challenges, and improving myself (mind, body, and spirit) every day. I guess the opposite of "in progress" would be "on hold / complete / not-started"...and I definately don't want to describe my life with any of those words!

So we'll see how this new focus of mine goes...I'll get a few posts up soon and you can give me your feedback (all 11 of you, ha!).

A Few of My Favorite Things

2010-02-24T20:48:00.004-05:00

I am making a commitment to improving the quality & quantity of my blog posts. I have really started to enjoy reading other people's blogs and am getting different ideas on lots of things in life in general, so I want to step it up over here on "The Brown Family" and share some new things with you too. (probably looking at a blog facelift sometime in the near future as well.)

I think some of my delay in getting things posted is that I'm struggling a bit with the formatting of my posts using Blogger. It's not quite as easy to type up a post and insert some pics like you would in Microsoft Word...and although I know a little html I kind of prefer not to have to use it! *Anyone have any pointers?*

Anyhoo- for a quicky post today I will share with you a few of my favorite things:

Clinique's "All About Eyes" eye cream - This lotion really does help reduce dark circles under your eyes and I actually use it on my face before I put on makeup. It's so smooth it acts like a really good base for concealer and doesn't leave your skin looking chalky once you've covered up those blemishes :)

Speaking of blemishes...what is up with my 28 year old skin lately?? I feel like a teenager again - connect.the.dots! Reminds me of that Girl Talk game we used to play, where you had to put a big red zit sticker on your face if you answered a question wrong...at least when that game was over your skin cleared up.

Puffs Kleenex with Vicks - When you are stuffed up and feel like your nose is just raw...these are a life saver!! These kleenex are soft with lotion and have that familiar Vicks scent to them so every time you use them you get a little relief!

Pampered Chef's Mix-n-Chop - This is my new favorite kitchen gadget! My friend Ashley introduced this to me at a Pampered Chef party she hosted a few months ago. The mix-n-chop is a great tool to help "chop and crumble foods for even cooking and seasoning." Before, I woould use a wooden spoon to kind of mash up the ground turkey I was cooking in a skillet...but this tool makes it so much easier. And it won't scrape up your pots and pans.

Dryer Balls - As seen on TV (you can get them at Walgreens/CVS)
We just started using these in our dryer and I would give them 4 out of 5 stars. Their claim is that your laundry will dry more efficiently and will be softer if you throw these rubberish (somehow they DON'T melt) balls in your dryer with your clothes. I would say the drying time is maybe A BIT less than normal, but you'll still want to use the same amount of fabric softener that you normally do. I didn't think that these balls made my clothes any softer by themselves.

The main reason I like using this product is that when I have just a tshirt that needs "fluffed" or a few pairs of wrinkly jeans I can throw them in the dryer with these balls and no longer need to throw in a wet towel to get that same "fluffing" effect. For $9.99 its not a bad product.

What products are your Favorites?

Football Pops - Super Bowl XLIV

2010-02-09T21:25:00.012-05:00

On New Year's Eve Brandon and I went to a super fun party...and I was introduced to these wonderful sweet treats. I've heard them called many things- cake pops, oreo truffles, cake balls, oreo balls, etc. But what they really ARE is AMAZING! So I was inspired to do a little research and found a neat way to prepare this dessert so it was appropriate for the Super Bowl party we went to. Here's a pic of us, so happy b/c we just ate a Football Pop :) Recipe is below. Don't wait for football season to start before you try making them, try it this weekend!!!

(We wear Bears gear under our Colts gear)

FOOTBALL POPS

Ingredients:

-- (1) package of Oreo cookies (or try Nutter Butters)

-- (1) 8 oz. package of cream cheese (must be room temperature)

-- Chocolate made for cooking/dipping/candy making (you'll want chocolate and white chocolate)

-- *Tsp. of vegetable oil can be used to keep dipping chocolate "thin"

STEP 1 - Crush up the entire package of cookies in a food processor. I like to separate the halves for easier processing. Dump the crumbs into a large bowl.

STEP 2 - Add the block of cream cheese to your cookie crumbs and mix well. Forget the spoon, use your hands to really mix the ingredients. The outcome is a moist doughball similar to cookie dough.

Here's what my Nutter Butter dough looks like when mixed well.

STEP 3 - After the dough is mixed, chill it in the freezer for about 5 minutes. This will help it hold its shape in the next step.

STEP 4 - Remove the dough from the freezer and start rolling it into small ball shapes. I used a small scoop to get them all the same size. Then form each ball into a football shape. It takes a little practice but you'll get the hang of it. Place the footballs on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to keep them from sticking. (Then back into the freezer again to firm up)

STEP 5 - Melt your dipping chocolate in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave. For this step use the brown chocolate, but you may need to throw a few pieces of white chocolate in the mix to get the perfect pigskin color. *You may want to add a little vegetable oil to the chocolate to thin it out a bit.

Fast foward a couple steps - sorry I forgot to take more pictures!

STEP 6 - Now for the fun! Using sucker sticks you can get at any craft store, you'll want to "spear" each football and then dip it in the melted chocolate to coat the football entirely. To help the pop dry without leaving any flat areas you can use floral foam to "drip dry" your football pops. Again, back into the freezer to help the chocolate coating firm up. It won't take long since we're using chocolate coating meant for dipping.

NOTE-Before dipping the entire football you need to reinforce your stick! Start by dipping each sucker stick into the chocolate and then push it about halfway into each football. Use floral foam to help hold the un-dipped pops while the chocolate acts like a glue for the stick. Place them in the freezer to speed up this process. Now you are ready for Step 6 "Dipping".

STEP 7 - Once your chocolate coating is firm you can melt the white chocolate and put the finishing touches on your footballs! Use a toothpick to paint on the white laces however you wish.

TADA! Super Bowl Football Pops!

I chose to make some football pops and left others "stickless". When dipping the stickless ones I just used a toothpick to help dip them and dry them.

For those of you who are overwhelmed at the thought of all that DIPPING, try these. Just roll the dough into balls, then shake a little powdered sugar on top. Chill before serving! These oreo balls were gone in about 5 minutes!

ENJOY!!!!!

Now for a little secret - My mom and I made these over the weekend, and it did take us about three days to finish. Mom scooped the balls, then I was good at forming the footballs but had ZERO patience for dipping. So mom took over the dipping while I repeatedly chilled each batch of footballs. Then I actually had the patience to hand paint all the laces, but had no patience for chocolate melting/stirring...so we worked as a team on that part too! Now that we've done it once I think we'll be much more efficient next time, but it definitely helps to have a hand in the kitchen!!!

JACK-ISM - Jack Frost

2009-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

JACK FROST

Jack and Chloe

2009-12-22T10:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a few more pics of our pups...I am trying to develop my photography skills so bear with me.

Introducing...CHLOE O'BROWN

2009-12-20T10:55:00.007-05:00

I said it would never happen...

I said I would move out before I let it happen...

But it happened.

(And I didn't move out.)

There's a new addition to the Brown Family as of November...

Introducing CHLOE O'BROWN!

We took Jack to the Petsmart Grooming Salon on a Saturday, and while we were there we saw the "Heart For Dog Rescue" group had some of its pets there available for adoption. When we came in I had seen Chloe (who actually was named Lucy at the time) walking around with her little "Adopt Me" vest on. I thought she was such a cutie and her fur was so soft!

After we dropped Jack off to get groomed Brandon and I found Chloe and started talking to the rescue group people. Basically, they had just saved Chloe from an animal shelter on the south side of town about one week earlier. The shelter had picked her up as a stray. She was supposed to be killed the day after they rescued her! She had stayed with a foster family for a week and this was her first Saturday "on display" at Petsmart.

After a few hours of discussion Brandon and I decided that we needed to rescue Chloe that day...and our family of three turned into a family of four. When Jack was done with his grooming we let him meet Chloe to make sure they wouldn't kill each other, and they did very well together almost immediately.

So, it's been a little over a month now and everything is going great! Jack loves having a playmate and it really hasn't been much more work having two than it was having one. Chloe came to us already crate trained (although she hates being in her crate, probably from her experiences at the pound) and that was a big factor in our decision. Also, she seems to be a low maintence dog with a soft, non-shedding coat...so we won't have to groom her as often as we do Jack. We aren't certain of her breed, we were told she is a terrier mix and is probably between 1-2 years old.

Picking our her new name was easy. Jack Bowser needed a sidekick...and who better than Chloe O'Brown (named after fellow CTU agent Chloe O'Brien from TV's 24) We are really enjoying both of our dogs. And I don't care if people think we're crazy dog lovers, because we are!

Enjoy these photos:

Better Late Than Never! JACK-ism for Fall

2009-11-01T21:30:00.002-05:00

Here's a few Fall pics to please my readers until I have some more time to write something with substance. Jack has GROWN over the last few months...and was less than thrilled to have his picture taken with fall decorations at our house:

My mom spent the weekend with us in early October and we visited the Noblesville Farmer's Market in search of some mums and pumpkins to decorate the outside of our house with. Long story short...I'm officially old. I truly enjoyed picking out flowers and squash for the sole purpose of creating that seasonal atmosphere that we think of this time of year. I thought maybe I wouldn't feel the need for such things until I was mid thirties...but I guess not!

I've posted this next photo to share with you a Halloween favorite of ours...Kitty Litter Cake! Don't be fooled, those aren't really cat turds. But it looks like it, doesn't it??? I found this recipe a couple of years ago and have had fun making this cake and seeing the looks on people's faces when I present it to them. Even funnier is the expressions on people's faces while they watch someone else actually scoop out and eat some of this masterpiece!

Kitty Litter Cake

I was lucky enough this year to do a little Trick-of-Treating with two of my favorite little costumers - our nephews Evan and Graham! Be careful, the pirate is skilled with his sword and the lion has an unsatiable appetite (seriously).

Evan the Pirate

Graham the Lion

Have a great week, I promise to update more soon!

He Swims!

2009-08-13T23:34:00.004-04:00

We've been waiting to see Jack take the plunge into the pond at the dog park, and finally he did! Looks like we'll need to head to the pet store for more toys...ones that stay afloat!

Enjoy!

JACK-ISM - Jack of Hearts

2009-08-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

JACK OF HEARTS

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-08-07T19:00:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's because it's summer, or maybe it's because I've been dealing with an annoying shin splint problem, or maybe it's because I just can't get into "cooking"...whatever the reason I just haven't been ON IT with my fitness lately. And that makes me mad, because I know I can do it.

I'm still losing weight, still seeing my trainer three times a week, and for the most part am still practicing healthier habits than I ever have before...but I'm just not at full steam with it. And I guess I'm trying to convince myself that it's okay. I think often of how I "used" to be, and how I used to sit in front of the TV eating Taco Bell three times a week at least...and even though I know I could be doing more cardio at least I'm not doing things like that. And, when I do eat poorly (like while on vacation) I can at least look back and think of better choices so next time I am better prepared.

I am looking forward to starting another Slim Down nutrition class over at Fitness By Design (click here for details) and holding myself a little more accountable for my nutrition. And I'm working with my trainer to see if we can avoid another shin problem. I was just starting to really get into participating in 5K run/walks when my shins started to hurt. I did five of them from March-June and really liked it, but haven't done one since June because I was afraid of injuring myself.

And since this is my blog, I'm going to go ahead and just rant for a few...People who don't work out and eat whatever they want to really TICK ME OFF! I mean, really. Have you ever been on the treadmill...going on 60 minutes of keeping your heart rate at about 165 or higher, and then you look over at some SKINNY BIATCH in her totally matching, completley spandex, unitard looking workout gear and just think I HATE YOU? Well, I do. I see skinny broads all the time, and even though they are in a gym, they aren't really working out. And I guess if they want to spend money to stand around looking cute instead of SWEATING then so be it. But sometimes, just sometimes, I wish they wouldn't do that in front of me!

Okay enough, pity party is over. I'm going to go plan out my grocery list and meals for the week...and try not to think about all the ~~delicious~~ horribly tempting foods at the State Fair!

Congrats to Laura and Eric!

2009-07-31T23:44:00.005-04:00

To continue from my last post, here are some pics from the wedding we went to last weekend in Georgia. Brandon's cousin Laura got married on July 25, 2009. Congratulations to Laura and Eric!!

The ceremony was in the woods, really.

Can you see the boat dock?

The wedding party arrived to the woods via boat!

It is official!

Mr. & Mrs. Foht

Just Beautiful!

Leaving for the Honeymoon SPARKLERS!

We had lots of fun! (we sweated a lot, but it was fun!)

Georgia On Our Minds

2009-07-24T13:30:00.003-04:00

Brandon's cousin Laura is getting married this weekend in Cumming, Georgia so we decided to take a few extra days off and make a little mini vacation out of it! We arrived in Georgia last night and will be here until Sunday. We are just north of Atlanta, staying in Alpharetta and the wedding will be in Cumming on Saturday. Then we will make our way back home, stopping in Tennessee to visit my family on the trip back.

I am sure I will have some amazing photos to post soon. The wedding is "in the woods" near Lake Lanier and I'm sure it will be awesome! We are enjoying the scenery so far...I am particularly intrigued with the RUNAWAY SEMI RAMPS that we drove past. Apparently, when you go down the interstate on a 6% grade for 6 miles straight while driving a semi trailer there is a chance that your brakes could fail and you could lose control of your load. Thus, you would try to manuever over to these ramps that are on an incline to help stop you. W-E-I-R-D and F-R-E-A-K-Y and I'm glad that we didn't see any of them being used on the way here. Wish I would have taken a picture!

I'm off to find myself a Coca Cola, a juicy peach, and some peanuts. Who knows, I might even run into Ludacris or Lil Jon....yeeeeeaaaaaaaahhh!

JACK-ism - JACK ON THE ROCKS

2009-07-13T06:00:00.003-04:00

JACK ON THE ROCKS

Can you guess where Jack is?

We have been having lots of fun with Jack this past week at our neighborhood Dog Park! Pierson Bark Park is just a few miles from our house and is a great place to take Jack to let him experience FREEDOM from his leash! He also is getting to socialize with other dogs, and learning that he isn't as big as he thinks he is!

Jack in his "seat belt" on the way to the dog park.

Welcome to Pierson Bark Park! Visit us 365 days a year from dawn till dusk.

Please pick up after yourself!

Take a dip in the pond and swim after your toys!

Jack prancing around like he owns the place!

Jack meets Rusty, a very large, wet, goldendoodle...

Jack attempts to run from Rusty, a very large, wet, goldendoodle...

Jack trying to show his dominance...

Lovin' life...just lovin' life!

Today at the park we were very surprised to see another Border Terrier! We never see other dogs like ours, and so we were excited to meet Brody and chat with his owner. Brody is 4 years old and loves to fetch tennis balls from the pond. Jack and Brody played just a little, we hope to see Brody again soon.

Hope you all have a great week! I'll be at the dog park enjoying my...Jack on the Rocks!

Cheers!

JACK-ism...but not really

2009-07-06T21:42:00.008-04:00

Okay, so I don't have another Jack-ism prepared for today (not for lack of trying!) but I do have a cute little video that I want to share.
Our nephew Graham is trying to pick Jack up...but just can't quite get it right!

Cheers!

JACK-ism - BLACK JACK

2009-06-29T06:00:00.003-04:00

Jack is feelin' lucky!

Cheers!

JACK-ism - PANAMA JACK

2009-06-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

PANAMA JACK

Jack is ready for summer! He is learning to swim and never goes outside without his shades and SPF 45. Happy Summer to you!

Cheers!

JACK-ism - JACK AND COKE

2009-06-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

JACK AND COKE

Happy Monday! Sometimes...on Mondays...I feel the need for a little Jack 'n Coke...don't you?

CHEERS!

JACK-ism - JACK IN THE BOX

2009-06-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

JACK IN THE BOX

Each Monday I will try to post a new Jack-ism for you to enjoy...currently I have lots of great ideas but getting Jack to actually "pose" for me is kind of difficult. But we will keep trying!

Yesterday Jack received his last round of puppy vaccines, got his nails did (with a dremel tool of all things) and was microchipped. We spoke to the breeder for quite awhile and got a lot of good info about keeping him groomed and what to expect over the next few months. He weighed in at 9 pounds and we expect him to get to 15 pounds in the next 6 months. His latest accomplishment is being able to climb up and down the stairs and can almost jump onto the couch (he did it twice but hasn't been able to do it again). Overall things are going very well!

Enjoy the Jack-isms, cheers!

Getting Fit!

2009-06-03T19:00:00.001-04:00

Those of you who know me well know that Getting Fit is an ongoing effort for me…sometimes I’m pretty focused on it, and other times (like the three years I dated my husband before we got married) I’m just not! Well enough is enough...you can consider me FOCUSED now!

Thanks to a gift certificate and some advice from one of my friends I have committed yet again to some Personal Training sessions at the gym. Having a PT is nothing new to me…a few years back I over-invested my hard earned money into sessions with a trainer at Lifetime Fitness. I was lifting weights with a trainer for an hour, three times a week…and doing cardio for at least 45 minutes, five times per week. With a few pilates and spinning classes here and there. From February until about August I had lost about 20 pounds and felt pretty strong. I thought that was a pretty good commitment to getting fit, but was a little disappointed that it seemed to be taking so long to lose weight.

Well that was until FITNESS BY DESIGN came along! FBD is not your typical gym. You only go there when you have an appointment with your PT; it’s not meant to be a place to work out on your own. FBD does have a few treadmills and ellipticals for cardio, and you are allowed to use them before or after your PT sessions. They also offer Boot Camp cardio classes that you can pay for and attend whenever you want.

Personal training sessions are 30 minutes and they instruct you to work your muscles to the point of exhaustion…and then move on to the next exercise. My previous PT sessions had me doing 3 sets of 15 reps at a moderate weight on a machine or with free weights. This takes a lot of time since you usually take a brief rest in between sets. At FBD they have you start the exercise on a bit higher of a weight and perform the exercise continually and with steady control until you just can’t do it anymore (but no longer than like 2 minutes). If you get a point where you can go and go and go easily up to 2 minutes then of course they up the amount of weight. So it’s a much more efficient way to work your muscle groups! And typically, within a 30 minute session we get to about 12-14 exercises. AND WHEN I’M DONE I’M DRIPPING WITH SWEAT!

Back to my story…at the end of March I decided to commit to a month of workouts with a trainer at FBD. I signed up for twice a week sessions with Andrew at FBD. Then, starting in April I joined their Summer Slimdown nutrition class. The class meets weekly on Monday evenings and is really just a group discussion type of environment…and of course you weigh in each week for accountability. I learned some good stuff in the class and will share with you in my next post! The biggest thing the class teaches is to keep a food journal so you can track what you are eating and see how that affects your weight loss. This seems like a giant pain at first, but it has really been worth the effort. It is so much easier to plan my food choices and eat the right amount of food to keep my body fueled and satisfied throughout the day.

Starting in May I increased my PT sessions to three times a week, and that was a great decision for me. I started this journey on March 24th and as of June 1st ….I...am…down…18 pounds!!!! Do the math people…I’ve been able to shed the same amount of weight in 10 weeks that took me 6 months to do before! I am really seeing results at FBD, especially since I’ve combined better nutrition with all the exercise. And I’m telling you it hasn’t been too difficult. Normally this stuff is so hard for me to do, and it’s expensive to eat healthy, and I don’t have time to plan meals or go to the gym, blahblahblah all the usual excuses...but this time around things are just working out better. And I feel like I truly am getting my money’s worth at the gym!

Therefore, I recommend getting yourself over to Fitness By Design for a consultation! ASK FOR ANDREW (he's the youngster with dimples like Nick Lachey) he will help you get results, if you are willing to work hard! I don’t have much patience and for me, when I start a program like this I really need to see results in order to feel like it’s worth it for to me to continue…and I totally get that with the current routine I’m on. I’m excited to share more good news with you as I continue on this journey!

Puppy meets Toddler

2009-06-02T06:00:00.005-04:00

Memorial Day weekend was so much fun! We traveled home to R-town to spend time with family. It was our first trip home since we got Jack...and by the time we loaded all our stuff PLUS the dog's stuff we had a full car!

The most entertaining part of our entire weekend was watchins our nephew Graham interact with Jack. It did not take long for the two of them to become friends! I wish you could hear Graham giggling as Jack bounced all over him and licked his face! Graham will be 2 years old in a few months and he wasn't afraid of Jack at all.

Here's a quick video of Graham "barking" at Jack:

And here are some ADORABLE pics from Saturday morning. Everyone was anxious for Graham to wake up and see the little surprise we had brought with us. He absolutely L-O-V-E-D the puppy (or "puppies" as he was saying). He got lots of puppy kisses and when Jack started to get too rough with him he learned how to say "stop it, stop it" and tell Jack to calm down.

This one above is my favorite, check out that little puppy tongue!

And one more video just because they are so stinkin' cute!

Home Improvement

2009-06-01T21:00:00.005-04:00

Last weekend we FINALLY decided to start paying attention to our lawn and landscaping around the house. The flower beds behind our deck had grown weeds almost as tall as the deck rails...and since we are the only house in the neighborhood without a fence, our overgrowth was visible to all.

(FYI: I'm not really interested in yard work...or plant life...because I tend to kill things. *RIP to the orchid that died when I dumped hot spaghetti into a strainer and the steam got to its beautiful petals* But Brandon LOVES to work in the yard when he has time.)

But since we've had two nice weekends and a little free time we were able to pull those weeds and plant some nice ornamental grasses instead. Brandon's parents came on Sunday to help (those Browns all have green thumbs!) and this is what we they came up with:

Nice and symetrical...me likey!

The grasses should grow tall enough to give a little coverage while we sit out on our deck.

The goal for the day was to get the back of the house looking good...but my hubby didn't stop there! By the end of the day he had removed shrubs and rock from the front of the house and redid it with mulch and another cool grass (a grass that is purple, my favorite color!)

Check it out:

Yes it is a little bare, but I do have some ideas in mind to jazz it up a bit. There was no time for a 4th trip to Lowes...Too bad we didn't take a "before" pic!

I love this grass!

By the end of the day Sunday we had planted our new grasses, mulched, mowed, and fertilized the yard. I didn't really do much...except bag up all the trash...but I got some great sun while watching Brandon!

Blog Preview

2009-05-26T20:41:00.005-04:00

I know it has been tooooo long since my last blog, but I promise to fill you in on The Brown Family soon! We have lots of fun JACK updates to share and great pictures from our time with family on Memorial Day weekend.

Stay tuned to find out who is learning how to climb the stairs, who is getting fit, and who is getting a handle on his honey-do list... :)

Cheers! (from Jack Bowser)

2009-05-02T16:28:00.007-04:00

It’s been two and a half weeks since we brought little Jack Bowser home and he is doing well!

Look at those pretty blue eyes!

Next year Jack will participate in the Mutt Strut at the Indy 500 track!

Jack is actually starting to go to the door to let us know that he needs to go outside, AMEN FOR THAT!!! The first week was pretty rough, it felt like we had a baby in the house…getting up in the middle of the night to let him outside to “potty” and constantly washing his bedding from little accidents. He had a few instances of messing in his crate, but we seem to be over that now. He can sleep through the night, and can hold it until I get home after work. It really has helped that Brandon is working night shift and can be home during the day to give Jack some relief.

Here's a few of the obstacles we've faced:

Challenge #1 - Using crate as a restroom

The breeder and several books told us that a dog will not pee/poop where he sleeps/eats. YEAH RIGHT. Ours did, and it was super annoying! But we figured that it was mostly just him being nervous his first few nights with us, and after a few days he stopped having accidents in his crate.

Challenge #2 - Whining while in crate

This just tears at your heartstrings! Ask Brandon, who actually slept on the floor with him the first night he was home. He just couldn't bring himself to make Jack sleep in the crate on his first night. The whining still occurs at times, but throwing in a kong with a treat helps keep him occupied and he sometimes forgets to whine.

Challenge #3 - Eating dandelions and grass

I'm all about eating organic...but this behavior concerns me. I mean, those yellow dandelions STINK so how can they taste good? But our dog continually finds it necessary to bite off as many as he can, then I reach down and pry his little jaws open and remove the shreds of yellow petals from his mouth. Then he usually runs away from me and tries to eat a rock or two. Go figure. Many of the dandelions have changed into the blow-y flower things...so Jack looks pretty cute when he tries to eat one of those and gets white fluffy stuff all over his little face :)

Challenge #4 - Razor sharp puppy teeth!

You are probably thinking, duh what did I expect from a puppy...but MAN THOSE TEETH ARE KILLER! He really likes to nip at our pant legs, and is even successful at holding on while he is whisked across the floor. But we have lots of toys that good for chewing so we try to distract him with one of those when the nipping gets too bad.

Hard plastic toys are great for puppy teeth

Although it is definately different around our house now with all this puppy responsibility it has been worth it. Jack is really starting to show his personality more and amuses us daily. One of his favorite things to do it run a "hot lap" around the dining room table and into the livingroom over and over again. Most of the time he hits his head on one, or two, or all 24 chair legs under the table but that doesn't seem to slow him down!

Visitors- Jack has gotten to meet his grandparents and the Lewis's (who brought him a delicious bacon flavored chew toy) and many kids in the neighborhood.

The most exciting thing for Jack has been his puppy play date with Tuxedo! Tuxedo is a one year old female cockapoo who belongs to my friend Carolyn. They came over on Thursday night and Jack and Tuxedo played for hours!

Puppy kisses!

They did very well together, although I had to adjust to all the romping around all over my furniture and such...and there were a few whelps and barks coming from both dogs, but Carolyn assured me that no one was getting hurt so I was okay with that. I've never seen Jack run around so much! We definately will be setting up more play dates soon! The best part was that he slept for like 9 hours afterwards.

Soooooo sleepy

Hopefully we'll see you soon and you can meet our little guy!

Until then, CHEERS!

Welcome Home Jack!

2009-04-17T09:51:00.006-04:00

The Brown Family has a new addition...meet Jack Bowser!

Jack Bowser, Border Terrier, born 2-11-09

Brandon did a lot of research on which breed of dog would be best for us and the Border Terrier was a perfect fit! Of course, I'm used to only Yorkie dogs (R.I.P Manhattan) but I am already loving little Jack even though he isn't a soft as a yorkie. I think he will be a great companion for us!

Jack Bowser was named after our favorite TV show 24's lead character Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer is a CTU agent who helps defend the USA against terrorists...and pretty much he is just a "badass"! The border terrier is a real scruffy looking breed and looks tough so we thought it would be a great name for him.

Here's what a full grown Border looks like:

We got Jack from a Border breeder here in Indianapolis, and so far they have been wonderful to work with. The husband and wife are Vetrinarians who have been breeding Borders for over 20 years and they sent us home with lots of good stuff for our new puppy! We're happy to know that they will be available to us for the life of the dog and will provide Jack's primary care, shots, microchipping, neutering, etc.

Jack's parents are Champion Border Terriers. Mom is Cammie and Dad is Fiddler. Cammie lives here in Indy and Fiddler is from England!

Here are a few more pics of Jack.

Wish us luck as we learn to potty train this little guy! I could blog for hours about my stress levels in regards to stains on my newly shampoo'd carpet...but I won't. I'm overly anxious about it, while my super-chill hubby isn't too worried. But that's how we operate, so hopefully between the two of us there will be balance and we will be able to train our new puppy well!

7 Things I Love

2009-04-11T12:33:00.007-04:00

Thank you to Michelle for sending me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Since I've been off to a slow start with this blog it will help me get another post under my belt. I'm struggling a little with the formatting, but here goes...

Award Recipients are to make a list of 7 things that they love and then pass it on to other bloggers who put a smile on their face!

This is going to be so easy for me because...

1. I LOVE MAKING LISTS!
My friends still make fun of me for using so many post-it notes in college...I pretty much planned out every minute of my day on a post-it (I preferred the neon colored 4"x6" ones) and then I stuck it on my weekly planner so I could see what needed to be done each day. Now that I'm much older and wiser, I have upgraded to a full size composition notebook for my list keeping.

Here's a few of the lists that I keep:

Grocery list
Daily To-Do list
Movies I want to remember to rent when they come out on dvd list
Nutrition information to help when I grocery shop list
Gift ideas for friends and family list
Vacation ideas list
Websites to look up list

And to top it all off, I enjoying crossing things OFF my lists with a green or blue Pilot G-2 gel pen.

2. I LOVE TOASTED PB&J SANDWICHES
Made in the toaster oven, these sandwiches are delicious! I like mine with Simply Jif, Sugar Free grape jelly, a little honey, and slices of banana inside...toast that baby up and it’s a wonderful treat!

3. I LOVE DVR
Probably one of the greatest tech inventions of the century, DVR allows me to watch whatever I want, whenever I want...without having to watch COMMERCIALS! And when I'm busy blogging and aren't really paying attention to the TV I can just rewind my show and watch it again. When I go home to my mom's house and watch TV there I find myself grabbing the remote to rewind to a part that I missed...except she doesn't have DVR and then I start to feel a little DVR withdrawal.

4. I LOVE SWEATPANTS
Many professionals in the working world enjoy weekends because it's the time to wear jeans instead of "dress clothes". I skip the jeans and go right for the sweats. I actually find jeans uncomfortable, and quite inhibiting. Sweatpants are much more forgiving, even if they make you look kind of slobbish, I really don't care. The first thing I do when I get home from work is change into my favorite pair of sweats. I hear a lot about stay at home moms who get to wear sweats all day and not take showers...and I'm so jealous! I think that would be the life.

5. I LOVE ORGANIZING THINGS
I could go on for pages about this one. If I were to start my own business I would become one of those professional organizers like Peter Walsh from TLC's "Clean Sweep". Then I could help people de-clutter their lives. I agree with so much of what Peter says. There are so many other things in life that cause us stress, the last thing we need to worry about is where we put our hairbrush, or car keys, or last year's tax statements, or the lid to our tupperware dish, etc.

Now don't get me wrong, not everything at my house is perfectly organized. I still have a sock drawer that is a mess, and I don't have a perfectly organized pantry. And yes, I do keep a "junk drawer" in the kitchen. But those little un-organized areas don't worry me, so I don't worry about them.

6. I LOVE AIRPORTS
I don't travel often, maybe once a year if that. But I love being at airports! The logistics of how an airport operates, from parking your car to departing from the gate is very interesting to me. Everything has to run very smoothly and in a certain order for the entire process to work and I like that. Even if you go to an airport and don't really know what to do, all you have to do is follow the crowd and you'll probably end up where you need to. There really isn't a lot of disarray at an airport because everyone has to pretty much follow the same path to get themselves out of the gate. I haven't been to the new Indianapolis airport yet, but hopefully a vacation is in our future soon and I'll get the chance to check it out.

7. I LOVE COUPONS
This is a new love for me, and something I used to see as pointless. But clipping coupons is what lets me shop at Meijer instead of Walmart. Walmart is a great value on most things but I think their produce selection is horrible and their parking lot infuriates me! Meijer is a little pricier but the quality is so much better. So my coupons save me about $5-$10 each week and that makes it worth it for me to go there. And I just learned of the double-coupon policy which is very exciting!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-04-08T19:18:00.009-04:00

So it's not really our anniversary, but this past weekend my hubby and I celebrated 6 months of wedded bliss! I thought I'd reminisce for a bit and post a few pics to share. Brandon and I tied the knot on October 4th, 2008 and life has just gotten better ever since!

"Beautiful Day - U2"

I didn't really think that married life would be much different, considering we already lived together for a year before we got engaged...but there's just something that IS better about it. Maybe its the little things like hearing him call me his "wife" and then looking down and seeing not one, but two rings on my left hand :) (Two gorgeous, exactly what I wanted, wow I really love them rings!) Or maybe it's the big things like talking about our future, starting a family, and actually accomplishing the goals we've set for ourselves as a couple. Things don't seem so impossible anymore because we have each other to lean on. Being married is a constant reminder of that.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown

In case you missed the giant photo in the Rensselaer Republican...here's our "wedding pose" below.

Brandon says I only post pics that are good of me (well duh, of course I do)...but I think he looks pretty fantastic in this one too!

And this was our photographer's favorite pic, she said it was super natural and a great shot. What's funny is that I think he was telling me "how can we act natural just standing here pretending not to know that someone is taking pictures of us".

Here's another THANK YOU picture for all of our wonderful friends and family who made our big day so fabulous! It takes a lot of hard work to turn a fairgrounds building into a beautiful place for a wedding, but we had so much help and everyone was so nice to let me boss them around all weekend :) The event coordinator in me will never go away! Thank you to Erin for taking over at our rehearsal and reminding me to just be the Bride and enjoy the moment. We're thankful for so many things that day and are glad that our friends and family were there to celebrate with us!

Hopefully the next 6 months will be even better than the first! My goal is to update this site more often and share what's going on in our world...thanks for taking time to check on the Brown Family :)

Here goes...

2009-03-02T23:07:00.001-05:00

So I have decided to enter the world of blogging. Not so much because I have a lot to blog about, but mostly because I want to have another reason to hog the laptop from my husband :) Hopefully our family and friends will enjoy reading our posts and find this website to be an entertaining place to get updates on our life.

This is only a test

2009-03-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

I'm glad I don't have too much to blog about right now, since the creation of this online blabspace is taking me so much time! Probably shouldn't be watching The Bachelor season finale at the same time...