Eeps. My last post was almost a year ago! Well, my place has definitely changed and I'm still in the process of decorating everything. The bigger pieces of furniture have all been purchased, delivered, unpacked and currently in use! But it definitely doesn't quite feel like home because I haven't really bought anything to give it personality and make it feel 'homey'. ACTUALLY - I bought some cushions a few months back to make my couch a little more cozy but that's about it. The walls are now a deep gray in the living room and I love it. Its well on its way to becoming sleek and chic.. in a few more years.. =) Still need a rug too.. I'm sure that will add some cozy to my concrete floors.
Pillows from Home OutfittersIt's still a mess though... I've still got boxes piled up in a corner (not even house stuff, but shop stuff that I access often enough to not justify putting it away in a storage locker - y'know, boxes of beads, lockets, chain, and more beads). Not to mention whenever I start creating new designs, the contents of these boxes explode outward all over the floor... sometimes I leave the exploded mess for a few days. sometimes weeks? =X And this explains why many of you Toronto friends have yet to see my new place. LOL A friend of mine told me he was just going to come over one day regardless, because the place will never truly 'be finished'.. I've contemplated taking a photo of it all when its sprawled out in its beadly charmly glory but it's kind of really embarrassing.
Aside from being a bridesmaid in my only older sister's wedding that took up a bunch of time - helping her pick stuff out etc.. OH. And as promised: the jewellery she chose for us girls to wear on the big day:
There is a little asymmetrical butterfly detailing on one side as well that isn't picturedAnd as if 2010 could get any more hectic, I decided that living alone gets lonely and what better way to remedy that than to get a dog. Don't get me wrong, I've grown to love him to bits, but dang, it's like I had an unplanned pregnancy and I never anticipated how much work having a dog would be. WHY DID THEY NEVER SHOW THE HARD PARTS TO HAVING A DOG ON TV?! I feel bad saying this, but had I known how much work it would be, I probably wouldn't have gotten one at my age..don't get me wrong, I LOVE him, I do! He's got some major issues that Google hasn't really been able to help me with because he's like the ONLY dog in the world that does what he does. The #1 most annoying thing I've been dealing with since November: he doesn't like to eat his kibble. Don't all dogs like to eat? Anything and everything?? Bless his little puppy heart, licking the kibble a little.. scattering it around the bowl on the floor and then running off to play with a toy or sniffing out who just walked by the hallway..staring at me pointing to his food bowl and NOT eating..God how I love him... (after asking some experts, the conclusion is that he's a picky eater and I can't give into his pickyness by switching food this young, or he'll expect me to give him different food forever - just stick to your guns and insist that this kibs is the only food he's going to get and it's just too damn bad, if he refuses to eat, then he'll have to starve - missed meals = I no longer know his poop schedule YAY for me!) #2 His notorious after breakfast poops that he can't seem to hold in (if he even eats in the first place). For the longest time, he's been pretty 99% good with the potty training in all aspects EXCEPT that 1% accidental poo is ALWAYS the after breakfast poo. He KNOWS where he should potty any other time of the day, so I'd say he is trained and knows better. It's like either he just doesn't feel like telling me or the pushing sensation comes so lightning fast he can't help it and just starts going. Oh how I love him so much.. *grumbles... he's has the cutest squat though, I love it, JUST NOT IN MY HOUSE. #3 His fear of people. I will admit - this is half my fault and half his. His breed is known to be EXTREMELY shy and right at the critical age for socialization, it has to be -30 degrees outside and all I want to do is stay inside under a warm blanket and hibernate. It wasn't too bad before, he'd just avoid people, but in the recent month or two he's decided that he's going to give anyone that comes near him a piece of his mind and freak them the hell out. He's also got #4: separation anxiety. And sounds literally like a crying human baby that howls and my neighbours probably think I'm some sort of animal abuser. SOOOO those are his issues that I'm actively working on nipping in the bud - at least Google can help me with the last 2, but the eating thing is a major problem that I swear he's stunted his own growth both physically and mentally because I can't train him with treats and he lacks the focus to be trained by praise alone.
And with that, meet Ares - more a princess than a god of war:
This was taken earlier, he's a bit bigger but he still fits under my couch for funsies.Other than that, he's an angel. Maybe I should have mentioned the positive things first.. I am such a negative Nancy.... He's awesome with my cutting his nails, brushing his coat, washing his paws after walks, quite good now with baths actually, never chewed up any shoes/furniture, never begs for food at the table, puts his chin on the sofa and stares at me asking for permission to lie on the couch.. and he doesn't try to eat/touch the million little jewelry bits I have on the floor!! That's pretty awesome. As for tricks, I haven't been able to train him to do too much fun stuff because of his picky eating, he was banned from treats of any kind for a while - but he can sit, down, roll over, shake a paw, speak and open his mouth when I say 'open' (this last one was a freebie trick, from all the times he tried to eat crap off the floor, I grab him and force his mouth open to fish out whatever it was). I know the negative rant is way longer than the positive but I don't take it for granted. I am truly truly grateful for how well behaved he is - I know a lot of other dogs have their fair share of issues unique to their personalities. And he doesn't have a fit when I make him walk on his hind legs and dance with me. Yup. I do love that boy.
