Thursday, January 22, 2009

Negative 6 days....

...The Hartmans are officially home owners as of 6 days ago! Yay us! The events that went down this weekend in "FYI" fashion...

Signed papers
Received keys
Drove to the house, relished in it for about 10 minutes
Lowes shopping - finalized paint colors (pictures up soon)
Dinner
Back to our home, taped off the trim - prep for paint
Friends stopped by and checked out the place :)
Saturday, woke up in a startled-like fashion...let's go, let's go, let's go!!! Paint awaits!
Prep work - aka primer the walls
Painted ALL day
Sleep time
Woke up in crazy pain. Didn't know I was using my calves so much.
Sunday - PAINTED ALL DAY
(Neil however watched some NFL playoffs, as I listened via radio)
Sleep time, was completely exhausted, and in major pain.
Monday, brought over "kitchen" boxes.

Pictures up soon...
Tomorrow is moving day - pray for good weather :)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Meet Cali


She is just 4 weeks old, and I pick her up in 2 weeks....in 13 days. I'm so excited!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Cali vs. Cobra

Neil and I have been on a crazy man-hunt for a baby doggie. This dog would belong to me. Mine. (In the end, this dog will probably favor Neil) I have checked high and low w/every dog rescue in the 200 mile radius in hopes that we could rescue a dog. Cleveland Rescue wouldn't adopt out of Ohio. Buffalo Rescue won't adopt out of New York. Pittsburgh didn't have any dogs I'd be interested in. And I know, I'm rescuing a dog - why be so picky? You must ask yourself, have you not met Dawna Editha Hartman? Then the search began in the "puppies for sale" websites.

As of 3 days ago, I was driving 4 and a 1/2 hours to pick up the sweeeetest looking dog (which was a rescue pup): boston terrier, chihuahua mix named Baxter. I was in contact w/the foster family, and it looked to be a done deal. Then snow happened. Then the thought kicked in we'd be traveling 9 hours in 1 day. I had Neil make the very sad phone call that we wouldn't be able to meet Baxter. I was in tears (no surprise there).
In the last 48 hours we've checked every site that is available to our fingertips. This is what our eyes were looking for:
Pit Bull Terrier
Pit Bull Terrier mix
Puppy (6-8 weeks)
White w/tan or brown markings
You must all be thinking? A pit bull? Yes. I adore them!!! If trained and treated properly, they can be one of the most amazing dogs you'd ever be in contact with.
Now, some of you know my husband - and those closest to him know how much he adores Chihuahuas. You didn't mis-read that, it's true. He loves 'em. After I made arrangements to meet the potential Cali, the pit bull - who is located in Pittsburgh - I wanted to take one last glance at the Pittsburgh site to see if I could maybe meet another dog...if they were in the area. And low and behold I come across black and white male chihuahuas. They're precious! Of course Neil's face just brightened right up! He made the phone call instantly and made arrangements.

So here it is: Cali vs. Cobra Commander....
sorry for the small photo:

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

10 days to go.

The radon is going to be mitigated this weekend on our home, and should be cleared out by closing. My boss told me today that over the weekend he saw a moving truck at the house... how excited are we?!
For the time being I've been picking out paint colors - and most importantly...looking for a baby doggie to add to our family. I'm looking for anything from a french bull dog, a boston, to a boxer, to a pit bull - I'm just keeping an open mind and heart about this. But I'm super anxious! Neil and I made the decision that we want to rescue a dog, but it's harder then it seems. The application process, going to meet the dog - and the foster family. It's all very nerve-racking to me. As of right now, I've located a really cute baby girl. She is a boston terrier, chihuahua mix - and is just precious! I need to go through a phone interview, which I think is tomorrow night (I'm nervous). The downfall is, this baby doggie is located over 4 hours away. Is she worth the drive? I think so. Neil, however... does not. So, we'll see what happens... We're sort of hoping the foster family will meet us half way. I'm having doubts about that.
Stay tuned.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy 2009!

I was terrible at taking pictures these last couple of weeks - but here are some highlights...
Christmas with the Quiggles:

I did attempt to get a group shot, but that didn't work out. (aka, the Q's are too tall versus what I had to work with.)
Christmas in Erie was amazing! I have to admit, it was the 1st Christmas I've spent where I was totally at ease...no irritation. We did have snow!!! And spending time here, with Neil and my mother-in-law was just amazing. Not only was I spoiled from them, gifts were sent to me (us) from some of our bestest friends in CA. I made out big time:

Two days later, Forward Hall hosted "Decembercon" aka Shockwave. I was completely blown away by the entire night!!! Our friends Ryan and EMS did such a great job putting this show together. It couldn't have gone off any better. Shannon and I spent nearly 4 hours putting the merch together the night before, organizing and what not. Am I glad we did that!!! Here is an after shot of what was a very full cooler of hoodies - and a picture of a packed house...

The night ended by heading over to Fox and Hound, eating and spending time with some of the guys. The week continued with Neil and I both off from work - and being able to hang out with friends. Not only were the Quiggles here in town, but our dear friend Jon was home for a short vacation from his duty as a US National guard. Being able to spend time with him and his wife Laura was awesome!
Today is the 1st, and I pray that 2009 will be as productive for Neil and I as 2008 was... I do have a New Years resolution, which is to take care of myself physically - get myself to the gym more often, and eat healthier. I may even blog about my status...who knows.
Neil and I are just weeks away from closing on our house...we can't express just how excited we are about moving in! I really can't wait because I have waited over 4 years to make a home for us...and paint walls the colors I want to paint them...