Goodbye my Sweetie-pie, I love you.

The last 24 hours have been very painful for me and Matt. I had to say goodbye to my cat, Fatty, of ten years. My best friend of ten years, my cuddlebug of ten years, my baby.



After the long-awaited diagnosis of a food allergy, we thought all was well. Then Fatty started losing weight in the last year that couldn't be diagnosed despite multiple vet visits and blood tests. Overall, he was still himself but with a little less energy. But Thursday night, he began a swift decline in health. He would not eat and refused to drink any water. He was having trouble even standing. I took him into the vet first thing Friday morning to find out that he was in renal failure, his heart murmur had progressed, had an enlarged liver, and was anemic. The vet wasn't optimistic with treatment because of his severe weight loss.



The decision to put Fatty to sleep wasn't easy but I was completely at peace with it. It wasn't fair to make him suffer like he did Thursday night and Friday morning. It was horrible seeing him like that. Matt and I were with him until the end and I'm so very glad that I was. I was there to comfort him, tell him I loved him, and give him kisses.



But Fatty was more than this ball of medical problems. He was a sweetheart. Fatty would be at the door to greet me when I got home. He would follow me from room to room. Cry outside the bathroom door until I came out. Sleep on my lap while I was watching TV or on the laptop. He would sleep on me (under the covers) the entire night and only get up when my alarm clock went off. If he wasn't next to me, he was either eating or in his litter box. That was it. Fatty was a very vocal kitty. If you said something to him, he would answer back with a meow. It was never a quiet household. He was a source of constant amusement and Matt and I often made up Fatty responses...

Matt: Why is Fatty looking at me like that?
Me: He's imagining what you'd taste like with a little salt and pepper.



Even his name is a silly story. We adopted Fatty and Skinny when they were kittens. Those weren't their original names though. We couldn't really decide on names. Skinny was noted as underweight at his first vet visit. We referred to him as "the skinny one" and Fatty became "Fatty" by default. :) I had to put Skinny down about 5 years ago. Enough time to have distanced myself from the pain of losing a pet.



I think the worst part of it is adjusting to life at home without him. I never realized how much our lives really revolved around him. I don't hear the clickity-clack of his nails on the floor. I wait for him to jump up on the couch with me. I don't have him laying on my legs as I type this. He's not sprinting to the faucet as I turn on the water. He's not running into the bathtub as soon as I step out of the shower. My bed is very lonely.



But I was blessed with the best cat possible. The most affectionate cat ever and one that was FULL of personality. He will be missed greatly. Do me a favor and hug your pet extra tight tonight.

Hallway is Done!

I posted previously regarding the need to repaint my hallway. It had a flat finish that two adults managed to get really dirty, really fast. I used the reject color from the master bedroom. Similar to the previous hallway color but in a satin finish. (New color: Sherwin William's Kilim Beige)

Before:


After:



Did you catch that?

Before:


After:


lol It DOES make a difference. But apparently not one that is picked up by the camera. But I love it!

So about that reject bedroom color... I finally have a paint color picked out for the master bedroom! In fact, I already have a coat on the walls. (I'll save the color announcement for when it's done.) It's looking fabulous. But it needs a second coat and my legs hurt too bad from painting the hallway, bathroom, and bedroom yesterday. It will have to wait until I can move like a normal person and stop needing assistance getting up from the couch. In the meantime, back to my cabernet.

DIY Snow

(Fixed the video link. Sorry! Not that making snow is ALL that exciting.)

It has been cold in Indiana lately. Very cold. I woke up this morning to a negative 15 degrees (Fahrenheit). -35 degrees F when considering the wind chill factor. Ladies and gentlemen, that is COLD!

Apparently when it's this cold, you can turn boiling or near boiling water into snow in less than 1 second flat. Here's how:

1. Fill a cup with near boiling water.
2. Throw the water (without the cup) as high as you can in the air.
3. Poof! It's snow!

This works best when the temperature is around 0 degrees F and it is a very dry day. We tried it at -7 and -1. It worked much better at -7 F.

We (my coworkers and I) spent a considerable amount of time this morning filling up multiple cups of water and quickly running outside to toss it in the air. This didn't get old for quite some time. lol My friend texted me a video of her office trying the experiment as well. Out of her 4th floor office! Hilarious!

I Know I'm a Tease

Just a preview of what's coming up for the master bedroom!

Here is the before, the temporary, the I-thought-it-was-finalized-color, and the new contenders.







You can see the dark chocolate color (with red undertones) of the new furniture. It looked awful with the gray paint and plum accents so that's why it needed to change. The beige I used afterwards is too light for the space and clashes with the whitish-gray speckled carpet. Although the color picks could change as I haven't bought the paint yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Getting a Jump Start

I have started on my New Year's Resolution To-Do List. I figured with 56 items... that's about an item a week, right? Well, some of them are pretty easy so I've (almost) knocked out a couple already!

We have replaced some of the electrical outlets in the house. They were old and a few must have gotten bent because nothing would plug into them! (Not even non-polarized plugs.) To make matters worse, they had been painted over by the previous homeowner.

Before:



After:



Hah! Difficult to tell, huh? lol But I swear, it's these little details that really makes a difference in the house.

Apparently the hallway used to be painted a lime green:



I also started painting the hallway. I originally painted it about a year ago with flat paint. (Ralph Lauren's Canvas, I believe.) I thought, two adults? It can't get that dirty. Wrong! There are grimy hand prints everywhere. I had some leftover Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams that I had used in the master bedroom. (I am repainting again because it doesn't look good in the bedroom.) I ran out before I finished my first coat. Oops! I made a quick run to WalMart to have them color-match it. No biggie since the second coat will be from the same can.

Before:



After:

Well, that's coming tomorrow. It still needs a second coat but it is looking so much better. I never realized how much the sheen matters in such a small space. The first night I couldn't figure out what the glow coming from the hallway was. It was a nightlight in the dining room reflecting off the wall! Crazy. I will finish up tomorrow morning and post pics. Then I'll get starting on repainting the master bedroom!

Biting Off More Than I Can Chew

Happy New Year to everyone! I'm not a big one for resolutions but I am a list-maker. So my resolution is to start tackling more projects around the house, big and small. Our budget is tighter than usual because Matt's hours have been cut at work. (A reflection of the current economy.) Therefore, my projects will be the most visual bang for the buck. The list may be long but I can't wait to start crossing things off!

Living Room/Dining Room
1. Replace all outdated electric outlets
2. Hide the cords in the entertainment center
3. Paint the baseboard
4. Replace damaged floor boards
5. Attach quarter round
6. Replacement blinds for backdoor
7. Decorate entertainment center
8. Rug to help anchor the space
9. Organize entryway closets (one for hanging items, one with shelves and baskets)
10. Paint interior of entryway closets
11. Finish painting exterior of built-in
12. Prime and paint interior of built-in (and start using it to store things!)
* Wish list: flat panel TV, new couch and chair, more grown-up coffee table

Kitchen
1. Replace GFI outlets with matching ones that I bought a year ago
2. Replace damaged floor boards
3. Attach baseboards and quarter round
4. Replace ugly fluorescent light above sink to something more modern
5. Hook up the garbage disposal that was installed nearly 18 months ago
6. Start planning for new Ikea kitchen cabinets and countertops in 2010

Laundry Room/Mud Room
1. Prepare walls for painting (sanding area where cabinets were removed)
2. Paint ceiling
3. Paint walls (same color as living room)
4. Install tile
5. Organize space for shoes, coats, hats, etc.

Hallway
1. Replace outdated eletrical outlets
2. Repaint with satin finish
3. Paint baseboards
4. Hang pictures

Master Bedroom
1. Replace all outdated electric outlets
2. Repaint
3. Purchase comforter and duvet cover for new bed
4. Install closet organizer (already purchased)
5. Purchase matching lamps for nightstands
6. Paint doors and baseboards

2nd Bedroom
1. Replace all outdated electric outlets and light switch
2. Install new carpet
3. Remove 50% of items and give to Goodwill
4. Install shelves (already purchased)
5. Paint doors and baseboards
6. Prime and paint interior of closet
7. Find a better way to hide litter box
* Wish list: Bed for guests (Hmm, guess I'd have to move the litter box then!)

3rd Bedroom (a.k.a. Man Room)
1. Decor for walls
2. Paint baseboards and doors
3. Give 75% of stored items in closet to Goodwill
4. Paint interior of closet

Bathroom
1. Finish flooring in linen closet
2. Paint walls
3. Recaulk tub

Exterior
1. Plant grass in bare spots
2. Add additional ornamental grass to front yard
3. Plant ground cover on side of house
4. Finish weeding and mulching retaining wall
5. Clear overgrown weeds from back fence
6. Dispose of the ginormous tub of river rock
7. Paint exterior of workshop
8. Scrape and paint all trim
9. Replace both water spickets

Whooo! That seems like an awful lot! But spread across 52 weeks, I don't think it will be so bad! We'll see! It will give me lots of blog posts I think. lol