walking in a winter wonderland

so, it's been a while since i last posted. oops. the holiday season is upon us and no one is perfect. work has been just that. people complain that our hours aren't good enough (we are open more than 10 hours a day, 7 days a week), that our prices are too expensive (i agree sometimes with that), and that they weren't going to do anything for their pet anyway because, and i quote, "its christmas"... i mean, really, your dog is DYING, and you won't buy it medication because why? oh! yeah, you really need to get a pair of chinos to gift wrap under the tree...

but i have actually gotten a nice little break from all that recently. lets see, what have curt and i really been up to?

ahh, for only a few hundred dollars we managed to insulate the attic... with recycled paper blown insulation that looks like snow... grey tufts of warm snowy dust bunnies to keep us snuggly all winter. best darn day ever. so rewarding. seriously, if you need a date, this was the best date EVER. EVER! the dreaded attic project is FINISHED! it is satisfying to see fluffy stuff fly into empty beams and become useful, we came out of it looking like diminuative grey-hairs, and we saved almost $3,000 by doing it ourselves. and our heat is on a lot less often... and we got a great work-out (i mean, seriously sore the next morning). overall, i think this was the best $500 ever spent. mmm.

that means that since we moved in, we have replaced the back door, the roof, the insulation, the windows, and replaced the crawlspace screens. we have torn down the old-english ivy and replaced the piping from the street to the house! i'm sure there's more, but i can't think of it right now, and this is pretty impressive for only having the house since july!

then mom and dave came to visit. of course, my luck, it rained the whole time, and the heat died the first night they were here (it was a little exciting because this the first time that something needing doing was covered by our home warrenty- but we did not follow the correct procedure by going through them first since they were not available, and ended up paying for the repairs ourseves as heat is just maybe, kind-of, necessary when it is in the low 30's outside). but we OVERCAME!!!! and had a blast. got family time in, some shopping, *enjoyed* the bourbon trail, and saw a most mind-altering movie.... good times.

and most recently, we returned from michigan where leeloo met all of curt's family! carol et al have all moved out to toledo, and are staying with mom and dad for the time being. we stayed at the steph et all household, and leeloo got to spend an agreeable couple days stealing cookies from little hands and cleaning up messes (cereal and crayons and cheese, oh my!). she was really, really well behaved! we had a blast, and set no alarms, and enjoyed good food, good family fun, and lights and snow. i love all my nieces and nephews, but there sure are a lot of them now. concentrated energy, that's what kids are! 4 kids 5 and under. wow. 5 with leeloo.

other new leeloo discoveries: see is making out like a bandit this holiday season. lucky dog! she also loves snow! there was 6-8inches in michigan and she happily trounced through it every chance she got. soo funny.

so, we are all cozy and happy this holiday season. we are happy to be home, and were even happier to have all these adventures. just have to fight off the glums at not going back to now england for the first time ever. just enjoying the high of yummy christmas life right now.

while we are all feeling grateful for how wonderful our lives are now, it is time to take a moment and appreciate just how easy oour lives are. in comparison, mr. snowy, beloved snowman squeeky toy of the masses, has just undergone his tenth, yes tenth, surgery. he has lost his tasselled hat, beautiful bow-tie, and has undergone several amputations. further surgeries to help stabilize him will be funded through the leeloo teething christmas foundation, and recovery time in hospice is covered by all her new toys...

that is about all for this end of the woods. we are both working through christmas and new years this year (being an intern sucks, but no complaints given how much time we did get this year!).