New Addition to TD&AH!!!!

I'm happy to announce Two Dogs & A House has a new addition! I couldn't help myself...I did a terrible thing and visited a local shelter and found Big Ben! A full-blooded GREAT PYR!!!! I took Brutus and Annie to visit Big Ben and they were just as smitten as I was. Here are some pictures of him at his foster family's house.

How Could I Turn Down This Face?!

Easily Has 100 lbs on Brutus!

Big Ben will be joining us this weekend! You may think I'm crazy but...

..

APRIL FOOLS!

ARE YOU ALL NUTS?! ANOTHER DOG IN TD'AH?! HECK NO!!!!!!!!

Hope you got some good pranking in! In all seriousness Big Ben is up for adoption in the D.C. area, you can find him on petfinder! :)

In Case You Didn't Know...I'm Famous!

For all those skeptics out there...

While a bit hard to read, I'm finally showing up on google! Not only am I able to find it but I'm getting multiple texts/e-mails from people saying they've tried it. Check out the last link on the picture. Guess you just have to know what to google! I would also like to point out that a lot of dogs must have been chowing down on some cornmeal between December and now! Because when I googled "My dog ate 4 boxes of Jiffy, WTH do I do now?!" nothing came up!

A big thanks goes out to Brutus for loving Jiffy Cornbread Mix, on top of managing to expand your stomach to elephant size proportion. That takes talent, buddy! Without your love for eating random items in my house, my existence in the blogging world wouldn't have been possible! I however, would still be able to eat said cornbread. Is it strange that I walk by the section of the supermarket aisle and cringe? Man I loved cornbread...it was a weekly staple at Two Dogs & A House. I just can't get over seeing what came out of him!

Gross, right?! Hopefully I haven't ruined cornbread for everyone reading this!

My Dog Isn't Alone...

On a daily basis, I check out my page views to see how many people are actually reading this thing. It really surprises me sometimes! Anyway, one of the options is to see how people were referred to my blog posts. More often than not, it comes from my facebook posts. However, this morning, someone found me via google. And the search words were none other than...are you ready for this?

"MY DOG ATE CORNMEAL"

It's nice to see that Brutus isn't the only dog, who can get into random groceries when my back is turned! For those of you who are new to the blog, check out this post! Brutus chowing down on Jiffy cornmeal was the entire reason behind starting this blog. Seeing those words pop up in my analytics cracked me up this morning!

Sending well wishes to whomever's dog will be feeling a little uncomfortable for the next few days. Just know that spooning and burping are the best medicine!

Guess Who's Back...

Hi, I'm Alana...remember me? You may have seen me blogging here on a fairly regular basis. Well at least I was, until...

1. I started focusing on working out and eating healthy, to win a biggest loser challenge! This requires grocery store visits and planning instead of drive-thru windows and playing ennie meenie miney moe with the menu.

2. Decided to plan a surprise party for a best friend, way more work than what I expected! But she was surprised! I think her exact words were "WHAT IS THIS?!" haha

3. Got back into reading.

4. Two dogs needing yearly vet visits.

5. Got saddled with an 83 lb dog with Allergies! Whatever treatment way I go, none of them are cheap or quick.

6. Got saddled with an 83 lb dog with Allergies and a tiny super-sized dose of fear aggression towards the Vet, which required two vet visits, a muzzle and a tranquilizer which didn't work until I arrived home from the Vet...but that's another story in itself.

7. Started training for a half marathon. Regardless of starting out at the rock bottom and only running 10 miles a week or so, it still takes a heck of a lot of time out of your schedule.

8. Experienced/ing a shaky atmosphere at work.

9. Painting, picking up dog poop outside (glamorous I know), cleaning, shopping for the house, and general home up-keep. It's been going on, I just haven't had the time nor energy to blog about it.

10. Worked on my general awesomeness*.

*Disclaimer - We all know this one is a lie, however who can leave a list with only 9 topics...obviously not me! Maybe no one will read this, since the font is so small and italicized...better yet I should have written this in wingdings.

Well, I think that just about brings you up to speed. There have been a million times I've wanted to jump on the computer and overshare about my ordinary shenanigans, but my 83 lb dog threatened to show a little fear aggression my way if I blogged about his embarrassing (read terrifying...for the vet at least) couple of visits. That's my story and I'm sticking with it...

I appreciate the notes on facebook, emails and texts from everyone that enjoys the blog. It was awesome to see that people actually noticed that I stopped blogging and requested I start again.

That being said, let the oversharing begin again!

I'll leave you with this teaser, more to come on this picture later. When Brutus isn't reading of course. :)

Brutus THE BEAST!

TD&AH Dialogue

After explaining to my Mom that my tub faucet was now dripping and I was tired of my house constantly breaking. Apparently she felt the need to address not only my broken faucet but my lack of a significant other, you know other than my dogs. :)

Me: My tub is dripping now.

Mom: Eharmony. Look for a guy that enjoys plumbing and walking in Home Depot.

Me: Thanks, Mom.

Mom: I think it's a plan. Funny enough to quote me on your blog...


So Via Google Images, here is my Mr. Right, an attractive, accomplished plumber, speaks English as a first language (according to my brother that shouldn't matter) and enjoys long walks down Home Depot aisles. A girl can dream, right?

Would You Like Some Cheese with That Wine?

I like to imagine what the previous homeowners of my home were thinking when they did shotty repairs, random decorations, etc. I wonder what they would think now that I have started dismantling their previous home and painting my rainbow of bright colors everywhere.

Before I started this blog I got into a few home improvement projects, simply because I couldn't stand to look at the existing eye sore anymore. Or the smell that the previous fur-kids left behind, whom were obviously not set on going outside to use the bathroom! So, the next few posts will travel back in time, before blog land existed to me and I started my oversharing of my overly exciting, everyday life.

That brings us to the most awesome (read tacky) wallpaper ever! Check it out!

HOT! I know, right?!

Here's Another View...

While you're checking out this most awesome wallpaper ever, please don't look at my most awesome cabinets ever. Second only, to of course...the wallpaper. Or those snazzy curtains, left behind by the previous owners! Side note - when drafting a contract for purchasing a home, things get pretty specific, as in leave the 20 year old stove and snazzy curtains! I however did not request for all of the window treatments to stay...however, lucky me!! I was gifted all of them! Oh yeah, plaid, lace and yellowed blinds, the works! Awesome!

I'd also like to take this moment to point out my beautiful ceiling fan, also left behind by the previous owners. Don't let the fan fool you, it may look like it blends in, even camouflages itself with the white ceiling...unfortunately it's an every day yellowing even more cream. Gross!

If there was anything I had the ability to easily snap my fingers and change in my house, without any change in my bank account, or disruption to my everyday life it would be to have my kitchen completely remodeled. New cabinets, new appliances, new overhead lighting and yes even new curtains! I digress...

Believe it or not, I had a couple of people who walked in and loved my wine wallpaper and plaid curtains. Wowza! This wallpaper made me cringe every single time I walked into my kitchen, so it ended up being my first home improvement project!

After reading a few blogs online, I was confident that I could remove the wallpaper without screwing something up. Off to my trusty Home Depot, I grabbed a paper scrapper that I had seen on the blogs but opted to not buy the $20 tool that pokes holes all in the wallpaper and essentially helps the gel removal product (which I also purchased) soak into the wallpaper.

Let me tell you, BUY THE $20 TOOL! It will be well worth it! My rationale for not buying the incredibly important tool was that I had only a tiny amount of wallpaper in my house. I could figure something out to do without. Well I did. It's called lots of wasted time and effort. This wallpaper had to be pulled off layer by layer and I went through almost an entire bottle of removal gel!

Paper Scrapper

Glue Removal Gel

$20 Tool YOU MUST BUY!

All in all, things turned out pretty good. Here's a picture mid way through. See what I mean about layer by layer?

No More Wine!!!!

Unfortunately after all was said and done, I didn't snap a picture of the final result. I'll be sure to add one to this post down the road, when I remember to snap a picture of the fresh and clean wall! Not bad for my first home improvement project, huh?

Another One Bites The Dust...

I spent most of my weekend doing loads of laundry! I have a guest bedroom, that sadly has become my catch-all for dirty clothes. I had waited probably an entire month to have a major laundry day, other than a few loads here or there when I ran out of something or another. Gross, I know! I never claimed to be perfect. :)

Over the last few weeks work has been a bit stressful, with planning a move to a new office, end of the month, etc. my hours have been a bit extended. On top of that, add my new love for working out and avoiding drive-thrus, I just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up. So...my guest bedroom has been my dirty (literally) little, MASSIVE secret!

At about 8 loads in to my laundry, my closet decided to put my task on hold...when this happened! Eek!

My Closet Rack...only About 2 Feet Lower than Where it Started!

All The Clips Broke, or Ripped Out of The Wall!

I was actually thinking to myself, I'd love to get into another home improvement project, other than painting! I guess my 84 year old house heard me. Guess I'll keep my thoughts to myself next time...

Now what to do with this closet? Most of you know I have an obsession with Ikea! I'd love to get rid of the horrible white grates and turn more towards Swedish bliss or Sex and The City, ohh laa laah Carrie, style! However, with the shape of this closet looking more like a long hallway, I can't quite figure out how I would make my closet transformation happen?

I have two identical closets on each side of my room. Part of me wants to knock down both closet walls so I could make one large closet and just extend my room in one direction. Essentially, not losing space in either closet real-estate or bedroom real-estate. Just shifting and combining the two closet spaces, making a more functional closet space. The other half of me is screaming "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

I haven't quite moved up to being adventurous enough to knock down a wall or two, at that!! In time though...I see some disasters coming my way!