Look what I found.

The other day, painted on the hideous wall, that existed behind the hideous mirror, that we removed from our hideous bathroom, I found this:




Cute huh. D-man is thoughtful and always surprising me like that. I'm a lucky gal.


Leah xoxo

Meet Charlie.

This is Charlie.



Charlie is our new little guy. I mentioned here that we were going to have an addition to our family due to the fact that Sadie's breeder offered us a free puppy. Well, here he is!


Isn't he precious!

This is the night we brought him home:

My sister Kailey


With Dad


And Mom.


And Brother.


We already love him to pieces and Tommy has a new best friend. They are so cute together!

Sleepin

He's just a funny little ball of fluff. Thinks he's a lot bigger than he actually is. Tries to pick play fights with Tommy but then runs back to me for protection when Tommy wants to fight back.

And oh the puppy stage and everything that goes along with it. The biting, the peeing, the pooing. Oh yeah, and this dog eats his poop!

As soon as its out, he eats it. I know, what the heck? Maybe he is "special". We love him none-the-less though. Poo eating and all!

Leah xoxo

Some recent stuff......

I posted a new photo shoot on the photography blog. Life has been so hectic recently what with the move, new job and Christmas and now renovations that I have been slow to edit! Not to mention, I did a huge wedding a while back, so I have been a pretty busy girl. Just thought I would share something new.

Happy weekend everyone! And enjoy your v-day's with your lovers!

Leah xoxo

My early day of love

Dylan and I decided to hold our Valentine's Day Festivities this past weekend because next weekend we are getting our new PUPPY and we figure we will be too preoccupied with the cutie-pie to want to leave him.

We are pretty tight on money this year (as we were last - Dylan be done with school already!!!) so splurging on some fantastic and enchanting night out was not an option.

Instead we went to WEM and played a fun little game (which do note, would have been held at the most divine store in the whole wide world - Anthropologie - if I had a million dollars).

Do to the absence of said million dollars, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond. We walked the store and then had 10 minutes to pick out a present (under $20) for each other that related to our new home. No matter if we did not want the item ourselves. It had to be STRICTLY for the other person.

I got Dylan this:

A Scale.

No, I was not trying to get my husband to loose weight because he doesn't need to (I must say, my hubby has a great bod). He is just a weight watcher, consumed with working out in our basement. Anywho, when we moved I threw out our old yucky one so he really wanted a new one. Hence, the scale.

D-man got me this:

You got it, I now have my very own under-the-bed shoe storage! He thinks I have too many shoes. It was quite thoughtful actually. You see, he also thinks I have too many clothes, and getting this amazing invention will free up space in my PAX wardrobe so that I can fit more clothes.

Or maybe selfish because he doesn't want me inevitably moving in uninvited to his closet space. Hmm. I will go with thoughtful.

Following BBAB we went out for dinner at Earl's. Mama Wilson got us a giftcard to Earl's for Christmas so obviously that was where we were headed for dinner! I got Chili chicken and pan bread and Dylan got baby-back ribs. I got my baby-back, baby-back........... nevermind.

So that was my 2010 Valentine's day. It was fun and cute. Sin fancy. But I was with my lover-boy so that's all that matters right? RIGHT!

Leah xoxo

It's official!

This guy is a part of our family!



TOMMY has been our foster dog (see HART) for 3 1/2 months now and he has slowly worked his way into our hearts. He was with us when Sadie died - a VERY hard time for us - and he really helped us through it. He was there for us and so, we have FALLEN for him. Hook, line and sinker.



The other day, someone called to adopt him. They were very serious. They wanted him the next day. I called Dylan to share the news and we just couldn't do it. We both choked up at the thought of never seeing this amazing friend again.

We weighed the options, and on this decision we decided to go with our hearts. Our heads told us, it just isn't practical because we have another puppy on the way (Sadie's breeder offered us a free puppy - but more on that later - this is Timmy's time to shine) and I NEVER EVER wanted a shedding dog. I mean, gross. And we want to start a family. And they are a huge responsibility. But we decided that life would just be too boring and monotonous if we only followed our heads. So we decided to KEEP HIM!

When I hing up the phone, I don't know the last time I was so happy. A rush of joy replaced the sick feeling I had in the pit of my stomach at the news of his prospective parents. Dylan said he also almost barfed.



So there you have it.

For those of you thinking about getting a dog, DO IT! They are truly amazing animals. And please think about adoption. HART has 21 puppies up for adoption right now. And that is just puppies. The sad thing is that so long as their numbers are so high, they cannot rescue anymore dogs and during this COLD WINTER, the puppies just cannot make it out on the streets. Not to mention the abuse that these animals go through is something you can only see to believe....I have never seen anything quite like it.

Tommy was rescued from Hobema. He was shaking like a leaf under a truck because some kids were hitting him with hockey sticks. At the young age of 3 months, he is one of the worst abuse cases HART has seen. He still to this day is VERY fearful of leashes and collars - our theory: that someone was abusing him while he was tied up. When we got him he had lacerations all over his head and ears. Poor baby.

Don't want a permanent dog? Remember how I said that HART has so many dogs that they cannot go out and rescue anymore right now? Well, they also need foster parents just like us to take care of the dogs until someone adopts them. Keep in mind that I have never been a parent, but I have never experienced something so rewarding as fostering dogs. Yeah sure, it isn't 'convenient', but I am so sick of our society and how we dictate our lives around what is 'perfect' and 'convenient. Step out of your comfort zone because some of GOD'S CREATURES need you!



After all, dog is man's BEST FRIEND.

I'm Back!!

It's been a looooooong time since I last posted. Why? Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y!! Let's see...where to begin.
At the end of November I started a new job. And I LOVE it! Its great. My hours are cut back and it is not so corporate as my last job.. I am now working in property management at ING and I think I have found my place in the work world! Management (ie. bossing people around) + Leah = HAPPY!
Then Dylan started Finals (which I am happy to say he did splendidly on - good job honey!) and meanwhile we were in the process of buying a HOUSE! That's right folks, we are now proud houseowners! Here she is, our humble abode at 4528-35 Ave:




I know it doesn't look like much, but this is our first house and we are in-LOVE! I mean I have my own doorbell! And that my friends is the most exciting thing to happen since press-n-seal Ziploc containers. Other reasons I love my new house:
1. My previously mentioned doorbell
2. My very own mailbox
3. A front door
4. A backyard
5. Two levels so that when I cook my bedroom doesn't smell like dinner
6. 300 sq ft more than our condo
7. Dylan and I own it TOGETHER
8. A driveway
9. A room dubbed "the nursery" (no that is not a hint about anything - just something to look forward to)
10. All of the sweet memories that we are going to make here at 4528.



I will share some interior pics later but right now we are in the process of doing some renovations so I will wait to 'reveal' the final product.

A couple weeks after the house Christmas hit and we were NOT READY! We were so busy with moving that I didn't really get the chance to prepare for Christmas. But I got an awesome Christmas tree on clearance after Christmas so to make up for this year, I am going to have to set up extra early next year. I can just hear Dylan cringing!

Much more to update on but alas, I have to run - picture editing is calling! Talk to you tomorrow.....yes I AM going to update this EVERYDAY. Or at least every other.... :)

Leah

Sadie

This is a tribute to Sadie - one of the best friends I have ever had.

This week has been a really, really, really tough one. Why? We had to put down our 9 month old cock-a-poo puppy on Tuesday. About a month ago Sadie developed some soars all over her body, almost like little zits. But they were small and we took her to the vet, put her on medcation and within a week they were all cleared up. A couple days after she went off the medication they appeared again, and this time were much worse. She started getting soars around her eyes and mouth and nose. We were in and out and in and out of the vet for weeks trying her on different meds and new foods, etc, etc but nothing was working. The vet deducted that she had a form of Auto-immune disorer - like a really bad form of Lupis or Aids where the body attacks itself. On the day that we had to out her down she could not open her eyes because the soars had infested them, she couldn't walk because she didn't have enough energy because she wasn't eating. The poor girl was suffering so badly. On Monday I was talking to her(the dog lovers will understand that, yes you can talk to a dog) and I asked her what she wanted me to do for her (the vet said that we definately had to put her down but I was wrestling with the idea because I didn't want to feel like I was giving up on her - I wanted to fight for her) and I made the decision to put her down when, almost as if in response to my question, she let out a couple little whimpers, as if to say "Mom, make this pain stop".

I don't know if anyone can understand this, but the pain I feel over her death is overwhelming. I have never had to make a harder decision in my life, and it litterally breaks my heart that we had to end her life. We don't have kids so she really was my baby. I seriously looked forward to coming home everyday from work to see her. She was our form of entertainment - Dylan and I would watch her crazy antics and behaviours and just laugh and laugh. She was a true companion and a great friend.

So here is to you Sadie. To your wonderful spirit. I hope you love Heaven. Some favorite memories of Sadie:

-One day this last summer Dylan and I were lounging in my parents' pool and up pops this head at the side of the pool - she had, no word of a lie, climed the tall swim ladder, propped herself on the top with her hind legs on the back wrung and front legs on the front wrung, and then proceeded to jump into the pool and swim over to mine and Dylan's floatie.

-How much she loved and took care of our foster dogs.

-One time we took her to the Terwilligar dog park and this giant dog started chasing her - she got so scared that she ran and hid under a car and SCREAMED for her life! It was pretty funny.

-Every morning we played a game that went a little something like this: I would be in the bathroom getting ready for work and she would peek her head around the corner, make sure I wasn't paying attention, and then jump at me in her 'I want to play' pose (front legs stretched out in front of her and butt in the air). I would then jump at her, but not actually catch her and she would run around the corner and out of the room. I would go back into the bathroom and we would do it all over again. Over and over. Every morning.

-Hide and go seek - we would hide in various parts of the apartment and call her name and she would have to come and find us. She was SO proud when she did find us. And we would play it in the park - Dylan and I would run in different directions and hide behind trees - she would get so confused.

-We would take her to the park and to wear her out Dylan would run to one end of the park and I would stay at one end and hold her. Then Dylan would call her name from the far end of the park and she would SPRINT to him. When she got to him I would call her name and she would SPRINT to me. We did this over and over and over and over again - seriously, the girl had a lot of energy!

-One of her favorite games was played with my neice Jade. Since Jade could run, she has loved running down our hallways (the apartment hallways). We would always let Jade get a head start and then let Sadie go, and Sadie would chase Jade the whole way down the hallway, all the while Jade would just be laughing and laughing. So sweet.

-She loved to cuddle. Even right up until the last minutes of her life, we were cuddling, just my baby and I.

I could go on and on and those are just a few. So you see, we loved, adored, cherished her. She was so much more than a dog to us. She is sooooooo missed - I can't even describe it. I love you Sadie.