As the weather starts changing outside I got in the mood to changes things inside. Here are a few pictures of some decoration changes that I felt were a bit more "springy." Also, we finally got rid of our rug. I loved how the rug looked, but it constantly shed. It was unbelievable how much I had to clean for this rug. With me being a bit of a clean freak, the dark wood floors and constant white fibers were not a good mix. We found a rug that looked similar (even the same brand), but this rug is synthetic vs the wool rug we had. The synthetic material is much softer and does not shed. Yay! I now can sit on the rug without being covered in fibers. For someone that loves black yoga pants this was an issue. Ridiculous when the rug sheds more than the dog.
Old rug- looks nice, but sheds like crazy.
Old rug
New rug :) Looks like Orly made an appearance too.
Ah, not scratchy and no shedding! (Dog bones made the pic too!)
Fake hydrangeas from Wayfair, tray from Target, Glass Hurricane Target, Luminara candle from BB&B and pebbles.
So pretty when on and flickering
Luminara lantern I got from BB&B for $20! Normally $60!
As posts from last summer show, Justus and I did a lot of landscaping. The landscaping continues this year, but we got smart and will be paying for part of it to be done this time (more on that later). When the snow cleared we were shocked how much mulch on the south side of the house ended up in the yard. The rain, wind, and snow of the season did a number to our mulch. The landscaping had big patches of missing mulch and the yard looked like crap (literally looked like a lot of dog crap in the yard due to the brown mulch).
The mulch situation was driving me crazy, so finally decided to tackle the issue last Sunday. We picked the windiest day ever to embark on this spring cleaning. I ended up with mulch in my hair, teeth, ears, you name it! We cleaned up all the mulch and got rid of it in big garbage bags (thankfully someone came and took it thanks to Norwalk Facebook). Justus attempted to Shot-Vac the yard to get the mulch up. I am sure that was quite the site to those driving by! Don't worry, there is a picture below. I raked at least five, 5-gallon buckets worth of mulch. There is still more out there to get even, but have to wait for my blisters to heal.
Our next task was to borrow the neighbors truck and go get a different kind of mulch at Lowes. We came in for a lunch break before heading to Lowes and Justus asked, "Why don't we just buy rock?! It won't blow away." We looked online and rock ended up being on sale at Menards and cost the same amount as a bag of mulch. Seemed like a no brainer since the south side of the house is like a wind tunnel. We loaded up the truck with 1,500 lbs of river pebbles (30 bags at 50lbs each). We had to load the truck, unload the truck, and then I carried all 30 bags to their location. Hence the title of this blog- it was some heavy lifting! I achieved all of this while Orly was on my wrist with the leash and Justus was in watching TV having a beer. Just kidding! The Orly part is true, but Justus took the truck to get more mulch since we couldn't weigh down the truck more than 1,500 lbs at a time.
Hours later, a lot of lifting, and some dirty hands and puppy we were done! It will take some epic wind to move that landscaping now!
Orly has been obsessed with her reflection lately. She loves looking at herself in the mirror, which she does not bark at. When she sees her self in the window or door she goes nuts!
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the cutest of them all?
Last weekend my family came down to visit Orly and have some pizza. However, Orly was the main reason they came to visit. Orly loved licking Dad's empty beer bottle and Wendy loved cuddles with Orly!
Puppies are full of personality! Sometimes Orly gets a bit obsessed and takes off on what I call hot laps Justus calls it zoomies. Regardless- it is pretty cute when she takes off!
I have been working with Orly on sit, shake, and down. She got good at these so we worked up to sit and stay. This week she even started ringing the bell on her own when she needs to go the bathroom. It looks like a call bell, so it is pretty cute when she pats down at it to ring. The first time she did it she pressed once and went #1. The next time she pressed it twice and went #2. She then pressed it once and went #1. Is she telling us what her business is going to be?! haha Justus says it is a coincidence, I say she is a Mensa puppy ;) She heard Justus come home when the garage door went up. She jumped off the couch and started smacking the bell like crazy. I guess she really wanted to see Justus- it was pretty cute!
Pretty proud of this lil pup for learning all these tricks by 10 weeks old. Whenever I get a treat she sits and just starts shaking. She LOVES shaking. Now, we just keep practicing all her tricks!
I have quickly learned puppies live by the extremes. Extreme playing, extreme sleeping. Here are a few cute pics of these extremes. I was getting ready for work and didn't know where Orly was. I looked out and she was playing with the doorstop. Too funny!
Orly had her first vet check at South Des Moines Veterinary Center. She had a great first visit with lots of cuddles, treats, and playtime. Lucky puppy didn't have to get poked because her breeder got it taken care of before we picked her up. We are so pleased with the vet we picked. They posted Orly's visit to their Facebook page- she is a little celebrity!
When leaving the vet Orly decided to sit in a big puddle. When we got home she had to have a bath to get the asphalt off her furry butt. She did ok during the bath, but the hair dryer was not her favorite. She got supper fluffy and clean though. I think the full day tuckered her out because she crashed with her lil tongue out that night.
Sunday lounging takes on a whole new meaning when you have a puppy. It is the BEST! I woke up early to take Orly out around 6am. I couldn't go back to sleep, so decided to get the lil fluff out and play with her. We had a blast playing with her moose and sliding around on the floor. Her little pitter patter on the floor and uncoordinated sliding is hilarious. Below are a few pics of the shenanigans.
Justus didn't have work on Monday due to President's Day. I had conferences until 8pm, so I was jealous of his time with Orly. We had a 2 hour delay on Tuesday due to ice, which was really nice after a night of conferences. The changes in our work schedule have helped with bringing Orly home.
Love my moose toy and fetch!
Some tail catching time
Playtime with dad this morning
Catching snowflakes
Pretty girl in the snow
Wild puppy in the snow
Worn out from playing and ready for some warm cuddles
Play hard, nap hard
So sleepy I can't tell I am falling out of bed
Cuddles while watching some basketball
Such a pretty girl
Seriously, how cute is she?!
Moose fetch = Tucker Orly out!
This is what I had to leave for work from- tough to leave these two!
