NEW HOUSE PICS!

CHICO LOVES HIS NEW HOUSE!!!

DINING ROOM..STILL NEEDS A LITTLE WORK

MY KITCHEN!! I LOVE IT!!!

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KITCHEN!

Here are a few pictures..The kitchen is the only room that we really have put together and finished. I will post more as they get finished up!! Enjoy!

What a nightmare..but we did it!

Where should I even begin with the whole house thing. This past weekend was a NIGHTMARE, but as of today we got it all pretty much cleaned and put together, well the inside anyway. There are still some stuff that needs cleaned and some boxes that need put away, but hey, we arent Superman! LOL It will take a few days to get it all done. The old owners didn't have all of their stuff out until Sunday afternoon. We had already brought everything except our bed and computer over on Saturday, so we were pretty much just playing the waiting game. They finally got everything (well not everything) but everything they were taking, out. They left A LOT to clean, and A LOT of stuff they left there too. The fridge/freezer was full, plus drawers, closets etc.. They even left their 2 cats. So we spent most of the day Sunday getting rid of everything they left so that we could clean and get our stuff put away. Yesterday I took off work at 1:30 and J.R. and I worked our butts off until 11pm getting things done. We have our livingroom pretty much done, our kitchen too. Tami's room and bathroom was the first rooms done, so she is ready to move in. Tami has been there since Saturday also helping. She has been a HUGE help. Our room needs some work, as that was the previous owners bedroom/office/smoking place. So the walls need cleaning. I dont mind doing the cleaning and stuff...it actually makes me feel better knowing I cleaned it how I want it and know that it is really clean. It just takes time is all. I am going to take some pictures tonight and hopefully get them posted on here. You will be surprised how much of difference there is!! Our doggies LOVE our new place.. they are so happy to be inside with their mommy and daddy. They get SO much love and attention now. They have adapted to the new baby and so all 3 of them have actually been really good. We have had a few accidents, but that will just come with time..Thank God for Pergo flooring! We are planning to move Tami in either this weekend or next. She doesn't have much so it will be a breeze to move her in. Well, I will be posting pictures like I said, soon!
Until then,
Dustie

Todays the Day...

Well today is the day we start moving.. Its going to be a LONG next few days..but I am so excited!!! I will be sure and update as soon as I can.. and of course, post pictures.
Dustie

The New House

Guest Bath (aka Tami's Bathroom lol)

Livingroom/dining room.. excuse the mess shes moving! LOL

Dining room




Master Bath



Master Bedroom



Kitchen



View from Kitchen into Livingroom



Livingroom



Ok so Im going to try and post some pics of the new house. Keep in mind these are pictures of the house with the current owners still living there. I love love love my friend Kelli, bless her heart, she just doesnt know how to decorate! LOL. I just wanted everyone to get a general idea of how it looks. I will definately post more before and afters.

Craziness!!

Well, I finally have a minute to write a few lines about the craziness that has been going on the past week or so. We have been trying to get things in order to move next week and I didnt really realized just HOW MUCH needed to be done..from picking out paint to getting the couches cleaned to having cable/internet hooked up...and everything in between. Have I mentioned we haven't even started packing yet? J.R. and I took on a favor for the people we are getting the house from..they had 2 MinPins that needed good homes, so being the 'dog whisperers' we are.. sigh...we were on a mission. We finally had a lady who swore up and down she wanted them both..so at the begining of the week we went to pick them up and drop them off. All was well right? Wrong..she told JR the next day that she was so afraid of them she wouldnt even go out to their kennel to feed them. Another sigh. I just have one question? If you are deathly afraid of dogs why would you agree to take on 2? The question remains unanswered. So...here we go again..to find them ANOTHER good home. So I get ahold of a friend of mine I used to work with and she says "YES I WANT THEM! Bring them over!" So we say GREAT! and head over. Not even 10 minutes after we leave her house, she calls. Apparently her 2 Rotweilers werent too keen on these little dogs and thought they were dinner. So here we go AGAIN...turned around and went back to get them before the poor things were torn to shreds. So ... we ended up taking the poor doggies back to their original home and told her we would keep looking for a home for them. That night JR tells me he has a lady at work that is very interested and definately wants them..both. YAY! So we go the next day, load them up and head to her house. JR calls and she tells us " Umm..can I call you in a little bit?"... UGGH! So you can imagine our frustration by now..and these poor doggies being taken from place to place and scared out of their mind. So I start calling some other people who "might be interested".. I get voicemail. So we drive around a bit, trying to decide what to do. Finally JR calls the lady instead of waiting for her to call back and tells her we will bring them by so she can 'look' at them. (Who doesnt fall in love with a dog after seeing them right?). I'm happy to say it worked out. She took both of them and so far, cross our fingers, things are going great! We decided we probably wont be doing any favors anytime soon, of that sort.
Now that that dillema is over with, now we can concentrate on our house! I bought JR a 42" LCD TV for Valentines so that is being delivered on the 29th. Also that day the cable/internet is going to be hooked up. The next day the carpet/upholstery cleaner is coming to clean clean clean away! We are supposed to go in on Friday also and start painting..Im not sure how well that is going to go with everything being delivered/installed..but who cant work around a little paint right? :0)
I am borrowing a truck and trailer from work so hopefully we can cut our trips back and forth in half. I thought maybe we could do it in one trip (the trailer is huge) but Im starting to think we have a lot more stuff than I thought. I guess I should start packing soon...
Its going to be pretty hectic this next week or so, but I will try to blog atleast once with a progress report. :0) I will also be posting pics as soon as I possibly can.. Oh and thanks Mom for the gift certificate for a massage (she got me for Christmas)..it is being used the week after we move! Im sure it will be needed!!!!

Mourning A Loss

I lost my best buddie the other day.. I am so sad. He was such a good boy and he will be missed dearly. He was not a dog, but a family member and he had almost 7 great years with our family. I know he is so much happier now, but I cant help but want him here with me still. I love you Scamper and you'll always be my favorite buddy. Sorry I didnt make it in time to see you before you left us..

JR, Fishing and Indiana

As most of you may know, JR's obsession (ok besides football) is fishing. He has been waiting all winter for the weather to be above 30* so he can go throw his pole in somewhere lol. He finally got to last weekend with his friend Scott. They just went around here locally, but were unsuccessful in catching anything. He did get to go yesterday though and caught 4-5 fish..so fishing season has started! Now it's on! Dustie was never really into fishing after her grandpa passed away in '95. (We did a lot of fishin' with him). But JR got her back into it and now she loves it! Not as much as JR, but she goes a lot of the time with him. We have a trip planned in April to go to Indiana to visit and spend some time with Dustie's real dad and his wife. They've rented a houseboat and entered him and JR into a CrappieUSA tournament, which JR is really excited about. Dustie is just excited to go lounge and not have to work! We will be there the 10th-20th so it will be a long awaited vacation for us. There will be lots of pictures to post and stories to tell when we get back so we will keep you updated!! Look for more posts regarding fishing also, as JR has a big season planned lol.
Until then,
Dustie & JR

Our Home

So as some of you may know, JR and I are moving into our first house in just over 2 weeks. We couldnt be more excited!!! It is a long awaited move and we cant wait to finally have a place of our own. We currently live with JR's parents, and we love them dearly..but we are more than ready to be on our own. We are ready to have our kids inside (our doggies) with us, and Dustie is excited to have a WHOLE house to decorate how she wants. Well, almost the whole house. We have designated one of the rooms to "JR's Dallas Room". (Most who know us know that JR is a huge Cowboys fan). So he will have a room of his own to watch his football, keep all his memorbilia or do whatever he wants in there. (Although Dustie will probably decorate it). Our new home has a very nice, new wooden deck out back which will be great for BBQ's and get-togethers. The people who were leasing-to-buy from are good friends of Dusties and they are leaving all the appliances plus the washer and dryer, entertainment center and various other things, as they are moving/retiring to Mexico. (That is where they are from). The house is about 5yrs old and is great condition. They upgraded from carpet to pergo flooring everywhere but the bedrooms..that will be nice for the dogs!! We could really care less about all the extras, as we are just grateful for being able to have a home of our own..we have worked very hard the last 2yrs to be able to do this. Things are slowly starting to get better for us, and this is just the beginning. We will post pictures once we are moving in, before and after..so keep an eye out!!!
Luv,
Dustie & JR

Enjoy your Hot Chocolate

J.R. emailed me this yesterday, after a rough, stressful day and it really put a lot of things into perspective for me, so I wanted to share...

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups -porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the Hot Chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:"Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each others cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.

God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.


Lately I have been so stressed about getting things done and worrying about things that would better our lives..but I realized all of those things do not deserve as much attention and worry as I have given them. I really have lost track of what is really important in life..I have a wonderful husband, who I am grateful came into my life and each day makes my life better. I have a wonderful family who is always there for me and loves me uncondionally. I am so blessed with many friends who have always been there for me and still continue to be. I lose sight of those things in my quest to find the 'bigger and better' things in life. I only want the best for JR and I and the people who are in our lives, but sometimes forget about the things I already have, and take those things for granted. I hope everyone can find a place in their busy lives and enjoy their "hot chocolate" as I have.

~Dustie~

How we began our life together..and where are we now?

Well..where do we begin. We met in July of 2005 of all places..MYSPACE. We quickly became friends, and soon realized we wanted to pursue more than just a friendship. JR was on house arrest at the time and so we werent able to meet in person until the first Tuesday of September. We had been talking on the phone and online daily, and had already fallen in love..yes, without meeting. I know, it sounds crazy and a lot of people didnt believe it was anything more than a "fling"..but on March 20th, 2006 we were married..and now almost 3yrs later we are happier than ever. We currently live in Caldwell (Idaho) but are moving this month to Nampa. We have found a house there that we are leasing to own, and couldnt be more excited. We have 3 dogs now- Chico our MinPin, and our two Pitbulls- Baloo and Feyah. Feyah is our newest addition, she is just over 6 weeks old, and she is a handful. She is like having a newborn baby, but we love her. To answer the "million dollar question"..YES we plan to have kids...someday. Not sure when exactly, as Dustie has had some difficulties in becoming pregnant. She has an appointment in March to see the fertility doctor, so wish us well!! J.R. is still working at Kinro as the Asst. Supervisor and enjoys it. His days start *early* but he loves getting off earlier in the day. Dustie is still with Extreme Electric and things are going well. She will celebrate her year there in April. Life is great for us and we have truely been blessed with not only a great family, but great friends. Dustie is going to make this her goal and try to update daily..if not every other day to keep everyone posted on how life is going.. It may be a little hectic this next month with moving, but she will try her hardest!

Until next time.......