Being a Big Loser...Week 11-12

One more week to go!

And I'm down another pound!

Which is amazing considering the fact that I found a bag of M&M's in the freezer, and they just seem to keep jumping into my mouth!

I am finally above 10% loss.

That is something to celebrate!

Although it would be a LOT easier to celebrate if I clinched the lead girl spot and won some prize money.

I have house project plans  for it already!

That's about it.

Chad passed his insurance exam, which is awesome!

Now we just need for the weather to get better so he doesn't freeze while he spends time outside.

Dolly is in a little bit of trouble.

Yesterday, she chewed up TWO pairs of shoes and a towel.

And I caught her getting into the trash three different times.

One of those times was 4 a.m. today.

That was a VERY unhappy thing to wake up to.

She totally knows when she does something bad too!

She won't look at me, the tail stops wagging, and her ears lay down.

Notice how I have that memorized?

Sigh...we have a two year old...

Here's a picture of her to remind us that she is still cute!

(As if we needed reminding)

Also, both nephews got haircuts on Saturday and it makes me sad because they look so BIG!

As Emmett put it, "Daddy cut my haircut."

They're so cute!

Updated house photos!

Living room

Coffee bar...obviously!

Main bath...

The den...and Chad working like normal!

Our room! And Dolly's bed in the corner that she's finally sleeping in!

(Dad also painted in here the weekend we cleaned)

My craft room doesn't have anything new and noteworthy, since I can just close the door to the mess. 

Hopefully I'll be outfitting that room next!

Dolly's First Bath

Tonight, Dolly had her first bath at home!

We were a little worried about how she would take it, but she did well!

....well once Chad picked her up and put her in the tub.

I got in there with her and did the bathing, but Chad did manage to catch a few shots!

Laugh if you want, but I am thoroughly enjoying having a "little one" to take care of again!

...and as I said, this blog is just as much a memory book for us as it is a way to keep people updated on out life!

She wasn't too sure about the soap!

I think this is her thinking, "you just wait Mom. I am totally going to make sure you get soaked too!"

Is it time to get out yet Mom?!

All clean!

We didn't get a chance to get a picture of us drying her off with the hair dryer.

She wasn't too sure about that thing!

Being a Big Loser...Week 10-11...And a Dolly Update!

1.8!!! Yay!

I lost almost two pounds this week!

After a semi-plateau of .8 per week for the past few, I am a happy lady.

It's two weeks until weigh in and my weight goal is in sight!

THIS is the part of weight loss I was looking forward to!

It's nice to see pay off!

Anyways, how about an update on Dolly and life in general?

Dolly is doing well.

We can add squirrels to her list of things she loves.

She sat in the same spot in the yard for about 30 minutes last night just watching them in a tree in the neighbors yard.

She has "sit" pretty well down and "stay" is not far behind.

I made her a new bed last night with the fabric I got Monday night...

....and she slept right next to it.

Sigh. Just like a stubborn child.

I think she will figure it out soon!

As far as life goes, we are adjusting.

Adjusting to a different commute for me, a longer work day for Chad, and a fur baby waiting on us when we get home.

It's nice to come home to our sweet girl.

She gets SO excited to see me and gives LOTS of kisses.

Little Miss needs a bath though.

I think that is the plan for Friday!

It's only been a few nights of Chad working late, but I am having NO problems keeping busy.

Last night, along with making Dolly's bed, I planted my herbs for this year's garden.

In a few weeks I will start the veggies, and then I will have quite the job keeping up with it all and keeping a certain puppy from trying to get into it!

That's about it...I think?

Life is just moving at super-speed!

Hello, Dolly!

On our way home!

Hi guys! My name is now Dolly Rucker! Mom and dad brought me home from 4 Paws 4 Rescue (in Fenton) today!

I am SO excited to be home and my tail NEVER stops wagging!

Here are a few things about me:

I am 2 1/2 years old.

Mom says my unofficial 3rd birthday will be on Sept. 15 this year, since we don't know my real birthday.

I like: toys, bones, sitting on laps, running, eating, and my pink racoon.

I do not like: having to sit and stay before I can eat, getting my paws wiped off, staying still for pictures, and the vacuum cleaner.

I did so well going to bed last night that everyone was impressed!

I put myself to bed at 10:30, and slept though the night in Mom and Dad's room.

I only woke up once, when Dad came in to go to bed.

I did the same thing when we took a family nap time today.

Photos above 1-7:

1. Mom and Dad on their way to come get me!

2. This is the only time I would stay kind of still to let Mom take my picture.

3. Giving Dad a workout in the store! I was so excited!

4. Mom says this is our first family photo. I'm not too good at staying still for pictures yet!

5. Checking out my new home!

6. Meeting Emmett. He's not too scared of me. He likes me!

7. All worn out from all the attention!

Our first chewing casualty: a mechanical pencil.

I'm so happy to be home, and Mom and Dad tell me they love me a lot!

A Labor of Love!

Chad spent his last day and a half off setting up my garden!

In Progress:

Finished!

Another view...

It even has a gate!

Being A Big Loser...Week 9-10...and a new pet!

Three weeks until the final weigh in!

I can't wait!

Not just because then I can stop answering to the scale, but because this far it looks like I will be bringing home a return on my initial investment of $20.

Hello, house fund!

Really, I am glad to be down anything this week.

(I'll take another .8 pounds!)

I know I say that most times, but this week especially...

Since we were moving, it was all about quick and easy meals.

Lots of pizza, lots of chips and cookies to accompany sandwiches.

Oh, and Red Lobster Saturday night for Kevin and Darla's birthdays...(Cheddar Bay Biscuits, anyone?)

Life still hasn't calmed down yet; we went to the apartment Monday get the things off the walls, last night we went to restock the pantry since we had let our food supply run so low, and tonight we are going back to the apartment one final time to clean.

Oh yeah, and tomorrow Chad "graduates" the program, I have Zumba class in the evening, and am picking up the crate for this weekend.

This is Dolly! She will be Dolly Rucker as of 11am Saturday morning!

And Friday night our date will be MORE unpacking and getting ready for Saturday.

What's Saturday?

OUR DOG FINALLY COMES HOME TO US!

Yes, we are adding to the family again.

I'll post on her later, but here is her picture from petfinder.com:

She is a 2 year old German Shepherd mix.

 I am so ridiculously excited. I never had pets growing up, so this is a new adventure for me!

As if we haven't had enough new adventures lately!

Be watching for pictures of house progress and info on our sweet new family member!

Moving, Shaking, and Changing.

We made it through moving day!

It went relatively smooth (other than the U-haul we reserved not being available, then driving to get another one that ended up having a flat tire) (and me being sick).

Mom and Darla literally made a "bed" on the floor of blankets we had brought over and made me lay down while the guys loaded the truck.

We also celebrated Kevin and Darla's upcoming birthdays!

According to Landon, they are both turning 27.













Sunday, Lindsay, Tyson, and the boys came over to help.

I think the boys are a little bit sad that we put furniture in the house that blocked their running space.

But they do love the yard.

And the laundry chute.

They DEFINITELY love that.

I think they're now hired to come to my house weekly and help dump the laundry down the chute into the basement!

Emmett has also already tried once to use that as an alternate way to get to the basement.

(Don't worry, he won't be able to get in!)

Monday was back to work for the both of us.

It is Chad's last week in home office before he goes into the field!

That came up on us quickly!

Either way, while part one of "The Rucker Family turns their life upside down in the span of 2 weeks" is over, we still have parts 2 (the new dog) and 3 (Chad opens his business).

Sometimes I think chaos just gravitates towards us!

Being a Big Loser...Week 8-9

1.4 pounds gone!

Which I was amazed for, because I weighed yesterday and was UP FOUR POUNDS.

Never weighing in the afternoon again.

Given the amount of busy-ness from the past week, its no wonder I lost though.

Since last week's Big Loser post, we have closed on the house, did a bunch of updates and cleaning to it (I listed that last post!), and had our very first official homeowners "OMG there is no maintenance crew to fix this...time to panic" moment.

We bug bombed the house Saturday so we turned off the gas water heater.

And then we couldn't get it to light when we tried to turn it back on.

So we scheduled Laclede to come take a look.

Let's just say they charge CRAZY high rates on service.

Thankfully, we have family around, and THANKFULLY they know people who can fix things.

So last night involved me making a flying trip to the house in order to meet dad's mechanic/fixer guy.

Mom and Jenna met me there and helped unload the load of stuff I had brought.

Dad's fixer guy was AWESOME!

He got it lit, showed me how to do so, and he fixed the leaking valve.

For about half the price of Laclede's rate.

So many things to be thankful for today!

The First Weekend

We spent almost the entire weekend at the house getting our projects done.

And now, Monday morning, we are paying for it.

I had to literally drag myself out of bed.

The soreness from pushing and pulling the (extremely heavier than it should be) carpet cleaner over all of the soft surfaces is here in force today.

Ouch.

So, here's what we've gotten done:

• changed the locks
• updated all 2 prong outlets to 3 prong with GCFI protection
• cleaned and spot cleaned the carpets
• vacuumed the carpets
• reinforced the closet shelves and bars
• cleaned the cabinets
• bug bombed the whole house
• vacuumed and mopped the basement (eww. that was gross!)
• swept out the garage
• scrubbed both bathrooms (thanks mom!)
• painted the master bedroom (thanks dad!)

Can you tell why we are both sore and hitting the coffee like crazy this morning? 

(Yes, in fact, Chad was tired enough to drink his version of coffee!!)

As we were working this weekend, I began to feel overwhelmed. 

Overwhelmed, with both what needed to be done and with excitement for all of the life this house will see.

Our goal is to be there AT LEAST 5 years. We are so very sick of moving.

Even though it was snow and ice covered, every time I looked into the backyard I got excited about that garden that will be growing in the back right corner and Lord willing, the dog that will be playing in the backyard within the next 2 weeks.

Life is moving. FAST.

Projects upcoming:

• painting my craft room
• constructing the coffee bar in the kitchen
• updating the cabinet hardware

I hope to add a few photos of the progress/moving in next weekend.

I hope.

(Also, we celebrated Tyson's birthday Friday night. I'll be adding photos of that too!)