bell ringer

When I got Nugget, I decided to bell train him.  I didn't want him scratching to go outside, since our doors are wooden.  And Donald hates whining, so I didn't want him to whine to go out.  But I wanted to train him to signal to go out. I settled on bell training.  I went to the pet store to get bells...and they wanted 14.99- 19.99 apiece!  I figured I could make them cheaper. 

So, I headed to Hobby Lobby and purchased a wide brown grosgrain ribbon roll with multicolored swirlies and a narrow cream satin ribbon roll with pawprints in those same colors.  Ribbon being 50% off helped, too.  I bought  rings that open and close, created to hold cross stitch floss, but I used them as the part that goes around the doorknob.  I also bought key rings to hold the bells.  And of course, I bought the bells.  Hobby Lobby being ready for Christmas already was nice, since I got to have a lot of options!  All total, I spent $8 on supplies for 2 potty chimes.  Not bad at all.

Since I am not a sewer, I used hot glue to put the smaller ribbon on the larger one, then I threaded it through the top and bottom rings and glued it shut.  I even made bows and glued those on!  Yay for hot glue!!

2 days later, I took Nugget with me to my mom's house.  He had only used the bell once unprompted.  I took the bells with us, and hung them on the doors at mom's, but since people were constantly in and out of the house, we didn't really use them.  When I came home, I realized I had left them there.

We went to Bryan's the next weekend and I had not had time to remake them.

Last week I finally remade them.  I had to rebuy ribbon, but it was still on sale for half price.  I also rebought bells, but I still had several rings.  In the end, I spent $13 and made 4 sets of potty chimes!

The first couple days after I remade them, he would only use them if I told him to "ring the bell" and pointed at it.  But yesterday and today, he has used them regularly without prompting.  I take him out as soon as he rings and he goes!  I'm so glad it's working!!

And, since pictures always help, here are my potty chimes!  (These are actually pics of the first set I made, but the second set used the same materials, so they look about the same.)

Front door chimes with pawprint bow.

Backdoor chimes with swirlie bow.

Actually, looking closely, I realize my bows look much better on the second set.  I winged it on the first go.  I watched the Martha Stewart ribbon bow tutorial on the second time around.  I'm not kidding.  I might post pics just to show how much I've improved!

I wanted both bows to be the swirlies, since so little of the swirlie ribbon shows up in the background.  But both times, I ran short of it and had to make one bow from each kind.  Oh well, it's still cute!

my favorite picture right now

                                                     I love this picture.  That is all.

bowls of distraction

Here are the bowls I painted at Hanna's shower.  I used the primary fur color of the pet for the base, the color of their collar for the main accent color and a second accent that went well with the first two colors.

Jax's is black with red and orange accents.

Dash's is white with royal blue and red accents.

Nugget's is brown with light blue/turquoise and light green accents.

I love how they turned out!  I am thinking I may go back this fall and paint piggy banks for my brother and cousin's kids for Christmas.

baby showers...

I have a really hard time with baby showers.  I tend to leave a little (in the past, more than a little) depressed. 

It's totally contradicted by my insane love of shopping for babies.  And how much I love to actually hold, cuddle, smell, play with and coo at the baby once it's born.

Tonight was Hanna's baby shower.  I felt guilty when she first got pregnant that I said to her, "I can't handle throwing you a baby shower.  I'm sorry, but I just can't."  I really hope I didn't hurt her feelings when I said it.  If I did, it was not my intention.

I threw Hillery one for both Gabbie and Davy.  Gabbie was easy, since I had no idea I was infertile.  Davy was a little harder since I knew I had issues that might complicate things, but I could handle it with minimal sadness since I still didn't know that babies were completely off the table yet.

But these days, after years of trying, wishing, hoping, praying, crying and finally (more or less) accepting that it isn't in the cards...baby showers drive home the fact a little harder than I can handle.

For a couple years, I went to showers and cried on the way home.  For another couple, I avoided them like the plague.  I only recently decided I could handle them again.  The one I went to in January, I got lucky.  I left with no sadness because someone managed to piss me off, so I left angry!

I desperately wanted to attend Hanna's.  I love her.  And I've been friends with her for so long.  I knew she would understand if I couldn't.  I had her blessing to bow out.  It took me awhile, but I decided I would go.  (I debated the merits of a few shots beforehand to help me out...)

I have to say, I'm so, so, so grateful to Heather P.  First for throwing the shower that I could not muster up the strength to give (and I know Heather has had a few challenges lately that may have made this just as difficult for her).  But also, for planning a shower at Firehouse Pottery.  It enabled me to focus on Hanna, and then just lose myself in painting, emerging to watch her open my gift and then dive back into the diversion of creating pet bowls.  No games to play and no forced participation in a circle of oohing and aahing over tiny cute baby things.  It helped, so much.

I picked a spot a little out of the way, so that if I was too quiet or got sad, maybe no one would notice.  It wasn't necessary, since I had something else to occupy myself with.  I can honestly say I only felt a twinge of sadness leaving.  And that's the best it's ever been for me.

Hanna, I love you.  I am glad I could participate in tonight's festivities.  I can't wait to see Blueberry Bedskirt A.A. Lyons.  I've been hoping she'll have Joy's freckles.  I think freckles are cute.  Please pass my thanks to Heather, who did a great job tonight.  I thought the little corked bottles of shrinking potion were the cutest thing I've ever seen on a refreshment table.

A thank you note through the mail seems weird when you share an address, so...

Summer is halfway over now.  Not quite, but since I know when I start back to working in my room, I know that it is for me.  Plus, I am a "teacher trainer" for the new SunGard Data System and have to do the training for that on the 8th of August.  I am considering that to be the end of my summer.

I've been kept busy by Nugget this summer.  I've had less time to miss school, my mind has been well occupied.  THAT'S A GOOD THING!  I've felt less of the sadness, loneliness, pointlessness and aimlessness that invaded the last few summers.

I'm a person that needs goals and accomplishments.  Plans and (rough) schedules.  Something to do.  People to see.  Lists to cross off.  A purpose to my day.  Rather, I should say that I've become a person who needs those things.  Because if you knew me in college (or before)...well, I still needed people to see, but the rest of the list...not so much!

But the last 3 years or so, its been important to me that I have that structure in my life.  I have learned to thrive within it and when it's taken from me for long periods, I feel lost.

This summer, though, has FLOWN by.  Between 11 days at mom's and 4 at Bryan's, I've really only been home 17 days.  With Nugget and a "to-do" list each day, I've had little time to feel lost.

And I am so, so thankful for that.  It may be an exaggeration, but only a slight one, to say that this dog was my saving grace this summer.  He gave me a purpose and happiness.  I have a vivid enough imagination to know exactly what this summer would have been like without him.

And so, thank you sweet, dear husband.  For caving in to my persistent, annoying pestering about a puppy.  I know you'd rather have stuck with no, but only because you had no idea how much I needed this.  Thank you for saying yes.  Thank you for loving me that much.   It means everything.