Thursday, November 30, 2017

This Year Feels A Bit Different. I'm Not Dreading The Month Of December...


The last day of November. It was a productive day. I baked homemade dog treats. Packaged up the 2017 Bodacious Holiday Ornaments and couple of Bodacious Holiday Bundles for Lisa to ship out. Once that was done, I tackled housework and meal prep. The music was blaring in the background. Tomorrow, we embark on the last month of the year.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

10 Things I Do To Unwind And De-Stress


My daily life as a Work at Home Dog Mom is crazy, busy, and most of the time, unpredictable. My to-do is lengthy. I have work deadlines. Blog columns to write and publish. Biscuits to bake. Meal prep for the kids, Lisa, and myself. DIY Dog Mom Projects to work on and complete. The list goes on. Despite only sleeping for 2-3 hours a day, I still don't feel there are enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The Holiday Ornaments Are Finally Done!


This was the scene over the weekend. Ornaments! Ornaments! Ornaments! This year, we made 3 styles of ornaments; each for a different occasion. The Bodacious Personalized Ornaments are the ones I offered for sale. I made about 15 'Happy Paw-lidays' for an event we are attending. The last batch is "Love" ornaments for our Spreading Holiday Love and Cheer party on December 9th. We have a 3-foot tree that we'll be decorating the kitchen table with. The "Love" ornaments will be hung on the tree. Our guests can choose one to take home.

Monday, November 27, 2017

The Goals I Didn't Reach And My Weak Areas Are Not Negative


Last week I received an email from a friend of mine. She reads this blog. From time to time she'll give feedback. What she thought was funny, moving, boring, a little over the edge, or downright adorable. This time around, she blasted me with a heavy dose of constructive criticism. After reading her email, I sat back in my chair. Inhaled. Slowly. Exhaled even slower. I skimmed the blog posts I've published over the past month or so. Sure, she had a point, but...

Sunday, November 26, 2017

More Time Behind The Lens Taking Photos Of Our Kids. Those Moments.


In a recent blog column that I published, I mentioned a few things I've slacked on over the second half of this year and some changes I'm going to make in 2018. Updating this blog and information. Social media. Creating new, homemade dog treat recipes. Tackling larger DIY Dog Mom Projects such as the DIY Doggy Gate for the front porch. After Lisa got her promotion, my schedule changed a bit. I also took on some extra work for a client. I veered off the path. It's not Lisa's fault. It's no one's fault except mine. I own it. Amid the chaos, I've also realized there's a whole other area I've been neglecting.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Sometimes I Get Caught Off Guard And I Don't Know What To Say


Just recently, Lisa and I were having a conversation with some friends. The topic of work and how busy everyone is surfaced. It's that time of year when busy turns into crazy busy. Towards the end of the conversation, one of our friends said, "I wish I could stay home with my dogs and make craft items." Silence. I was caught off guard. I wasn't expecting that sort of comment from her. I replied with something like, "It's not easy being a Work at Home Dog Mom..." Lisa could tell I had to pick myself up from that comment and dust myself off. She changed the subject.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Go With The Flow And Embrace Those Imperfect Moments


The day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday. The official start of the Christmas season. Friday. The day I begin my we-have-an-event-a-week-from-tomorrow-then-a-holiday-party-to-host-the-following-Saturday manic panic mode. There's a smidgen of my being that feels I'm saying that out of habit. I should be in total manic panic mode. I kind of am, but it's not to the extreme. We have plenty of DIY Dog Mom Projects made for the Whiskers in Wonderland event on December 2nd. I'm spending about 12 hours on Monday baking biscuits for that event. On Friday, a week from today, I'll be spending the day baking cookies and other baked goods for our Bodacious Bake Sale table. I have everything almost in order for our Spreading Holiday Love and Cheer Party on December 9th? So, why the predetermined manic panic?

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

There Is A Place For You At Our Table If Needed


I am completely exhausted. I spent the entire day in the kitchen. Food prep. Peeling. Slicing. Dicig. Baking. Cooking. Dishes. Housework. Spending lots of time with the kids. They were all curious about the excessive hustle and bustle happening in the kitchen, especially Willa. It's her first Thanksgiving with us. The most comical moment was during the process of making my homemade cranberry chutney. When the cranberries started popping in the pot, Willa sat by my feet, looked up at me, head tilted, as if to say, "Mommy, what's that sound?"

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

'Tis The Season For Handcrafted Ornaments And Chaos...


The Bodacious Holiday Ornaments are finally coming to life! The snowmen are painted on the 30 ornaments that people ordered. I just need to paint the paw print on the snowman hat, personalize, coat with the satin varnish, screw in the eye hook, and finish off with a twine loop to hang. The next batch of ornaments will be for the Whiskers in Wonderland event. I'll be hand painting paw prints on those and writing "Happy Paw-lidays" on each one. I still haven't decided what I'll be painting on the ornaments that we'll be handing out as gifts on December 9th. What I do know is they'll have "Live. Laugh. Love." written on them. There's a reason for that.

Monday, November 20, 2017

Afternoon Sofa Snuggles


I've been working on the 2017 Personalized Bodacious Holiday Ornaments since Saturday when Lisa sanded the first batch. There are 72 pieces of wood in total. I've got 30 ornaments to make for orders. I'll be making about 20 holiday ornaments for the Whiskers in Wonderland event. I'm saving 6 blocks of wood for an experimental DIY Dog Mom Project. The rest of the wood pieces will be made into holiday ornaments to hand on December 9th. It's a lot of work. A lot of painting. My goal is to have them all completely finished by the end of the week.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

A Possible Plot Twist In December


This is the time of year when I become incessantly reflective. The last month of the year is right around the corner. I've been doing quite a bit of thinking as of late about this year and the new year that's quickly approaching. I accomplished some of the goals I had for this year. Some, well...not so much. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish in 2018. In order to do that, I need to make some changes. 

Saturday, November 18, 2017

It Wasn't Energy That Fueled My Fire Today...


I posted this photo on my personal Facebook wall shortly before Lisa arrived back home from running errands. It was around 5 p.m. It had been a busy day. In addition to house/pet sitting for our neighbor friends, we got a lot accomplished. Lisa sanded half of the ornaments. I got them all painted. Housework. Lisa tackled almost 3 hours of yard work. More housework. I cleaned the refrigerator. Organized the cupboards. Laundry. I wrote a couple of blog columns. Lisa ran errands and did our weekly grocery shopping along with picking up everything needed for our Thanksgiving dinner. Once the groceries were put away, I made dinner. Leftover homemade mac-n-cheese and fresh chicken tenders. We didn't sit down to eat until 6:30 p.m.

Friday, November 17, 2017

The Bucket O' Wood That Will Soon Be Bodacious Holiday Ornaments


This happened today. After work, Lisa went to Lowe's and purchased the wood needed to make all of the Bodacious Holiday Ornaments for this year. Originally, Lisa was going to use her power saw thingy (girly lingo...) to cut the wood. However, after making a call to our neighbor friend Rick, he volunteered to cut the wood on his big table saw thingy (more girly lingo...). What would have taken Lisa a couple hours to do, he got done in minutes.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Doggy Bone Welcome Signs And Then...Bodacious Holiday Ornaments!


My big DIY Dog Mom Project for this week was making these wooden doggy bone Welcome Signs. I had 10 pieces of wood left that Lisa had cut and sanded a couple of weeks ago. I also had 9 wood doggy bones that were hand cut by the talented Mr. Ice. After painting the wood Lisa sanded, I picked out coordinating colors and went from there.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Today, I Needed Kleenex. The Universe Kicked My Butt. And, I Gained Much Needed Perspective


So far, this week has been a bit challenging. I've also been increasingly irritated with a few situations that have left me feeling a little worn out and used. And, I'm frustrated because a couple of these situations haven't been addressed in a timely manner. I'm doing my best to shake it off, but I'm human. At times I struggle with "how I would handle a situation" versus "how others handle a situation" and it clashes. Enough said.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Usually My Not-So-Graceful Moments Are Funny. Today, Not So Much...


On occasion, I’ll post some of my not-so-graceful moments on Facebook. Grace is not my middle name. About 95% of my mishaps are comical. They’re good for a laugh or two. People expect that from me. Heck, I expect that from me. There’s a lot of standing jokes stemming from that including suggestions for wrapping myself in bubble wrap to being confined to my office chair when Lisa is at work.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Things Don't Always Go As Planned. And, I Need A New Girly Gadget Box.


A couple of weekends ago, Lisa spent the afternoon cutting and sanding 20 pieces of wood down to size. I took 10 pieces of that wood, along with some of the hand cut wooden doggy bones made by Mr. Ice, and made Bodacious Personalized Holiday Signs. Over the weekend, I used the last of the wood plaques and doggy bones to create 9 doggy themed Welcome Signs.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

I Think 2018 Is Going To Be My Year. Between Now and Then, I Need To Make Some Changes.


I've said it before. I'm going to say it again. This time of year, I get a bit reflective because it's almost December. The last month of the year. I think back to the changes and goals I had set forth to make and accomplish this year. Where I was in January. Where I am now. My strengths. Weaknesses. Areas I could have done better in. Other areas I flew by with a stream of rainbow colors tailing me. The curveballs. Obstacles. How I can be a better Work at Home Dog Mom. Other personal stuff.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

We Still Have Some Bodacious Personalized Holiday Signs Available


I am head over heels for these Bodacious Personalized Holiday Signs. It was our DIY Dog Mom Project towards the end of last month. I knew it was a little too early to post them, but I couldn't resist. Not only was I excited to use the hand-cut wooden doggy bones our friend Mr. Ice made us, this is the first holiday season where our DIY Dog Mom Projects are in full swing.

Friday, November 10, 2017

What You See Isn't Always What You Get


Last year, some friends of ours adopted a kitty. Despite struggles and sickness and such, these people have the most giving of hearts made of gold. They're animal lovers and do what they can to better the lives of rescue animals. Just recently, they decided to adopt a feline from a "rescue." In the weeks prior to adoption, we corresponded frequently about prepping for the new addition to their family. This family was excited to adopt this unique feline.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Our Personalized 2017 Bodacious Country Holiday Ornaments Are Available Through Monday, November 13th


Earlier today, our Personalized 2017 Bodacious Country Holiday Ornaments were posted up for grabs. They're $6 each. These ornaments are handcrafted by us. We cut, sand, paint, gently distress for a rustic charm, and finish with a protective satin varnish and twine hanger. They feature a handpainted snowman with a black hat. On the hat is a pawprint. The ornaments measure approximately 3 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches. The year is written on the back.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

On December 4th, Our Home Will Finally Be Insulated And Energy Efficient.


In June of 2012, we reached out to a realtor to find us a home. Rental. We had a list of criteria some of which included pet-friendly, a fenced in yard, 2-3 bedrooms, and long-term. At the time, we were at the tail end of getting everything ready for our wedding the end of the following month. Neither one of us thought our realtor would locate a home for us before our wedding. In fact, we both assumed it would take several months. Much to our surprise, our realtor found us a home in less than a month. Long story short, we moved in less than 2 weeks from our wedding day.

Monday, November 6, 2017

An Email Sent. The Reply Sent Over A Month Later.


You may recall a blog post I published almost a month ago about jumping first and building your wings on the way down. A few days prior to publishing this blog post, I sent an email to "my boss." He's been one of my clients for 5 1/2 years. My job description over the course of those years has varied including the number of hours I've worked for him. In the beginning, I managed a lot of content, social media, and SEO stuff and worked right around 100 hours a week. Salary. A portion of this included recruiting potential employees from India to intern and to train them.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Jonah Made My Night...


For the longest time, I've seen one of our neighbor friends speedwalking past our home with a large Pittie Pup. In the past, she has purchased biscuits from us. However, I've never officially met Jonah. Lisa has during the many times she's outside doing yard work or cutting and sanding pieces for DIY Dog Mom Projects. Each time, when she gets to spend a few minutes with Johah, she excitedly tells me all about it.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

A Nail Trim. Playtime With A Puppy. Restocking Biscuits. And, An Afternoon Nap


Out of all of our kids, Sophie is the oldest. She tends to be the most dominant. She is sweet in nature most of the time. Sophie curls up with her siblings while napping and will occasionally initiate play time. However, she has her limits. When she wants her own space, she'll curl her lip and "speak" in an authoritative tone to her brothers and sister. They're familiar with this tone. It means, "Back off. I want my own space. Don't bother me...."

Friday, November 3, 2017

This Is What True Love Looks Like In Your 40's And Beyond...


This morning, I came across a story about a woman's viral post describing 'what true love looks like in your 40.' The woman behind the viral post is a parenting blogger. She's a mom of 5 human kids. Not too long ago, she posted a photo of her husband walking into a grocery store. He had a wallet in his hand and a smile plastered on his face. Why did she take this photo?

Thursday, November 2, 2017

I Learned A Few Things After Being Without Power For A Few Days...


Over the weekend, on Sunday, we were hit with a powerful Bombogenesis storm. We lost power for almost 2 days. Thankfully, we had prepared for this storm...to an extent. The last time we lost power for any extent of time was in 2012 when Sandy hit. The power went out late at night but was restored well before morning. Since then, we have been hit with multiple storms that were accompanied with wide-spread power outage threats. Each time, we prepared by filling up a trash bin with water, cooking extra meals for the kids, baking muffins and cookies for Lisa's lunch, etc. During these storms, our lights have flickered or have gone out for a minute or two, but overall, we've been lucky.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

No Power For 2 Days And Our Makeshift Halloween Party


I haven't published a blog post in a few days. There's a good reason why. We had no power. In fact, most of this blog post was drafted up while I sat at the table and took full advantage of daylight. Having no power was due to the powerful storm on Sunday night that was the result of a Bombogenesis. It was the worst wind storm I've ever been through and that includes hurricanes, blizzards, and tropical storms.