Bailey Christopher- In Memory December 1998-December 2011

Bailey Christoper

    
      I adopted Bailey in January 1999, when he was one year old.  I was going through a very rough patch personally and I really wanted some company.  He was my first dog and I had NO IDEA what I was doing.  He was a terror.  He didn't listen.  He bit.  He had so many accidents in the house.  It took me a few years to get things under control, but just barely;) 
      Bailey loved being around people and in the past few years he has been a constant shadow for Scott and I.  He would follow me up and down the stairs as I did chores-even when I would tell him I would be right back.  He would sit on the bathmat as I took a shower in the morning.  He "supervised" all of Scott's projects-making sure everything was under control.  He slept in our bed-oftentimes between us like the middle line in a "H."  We often commented on how it was odd that such a small dog could take up so much room in a king sized bed.  He would sit on the couch with us.  He would yodel when he wanted fed-and we would respond like the well trained pet parents we are.  He didn't play fetch-he did wear argyle sweaters.  He was much more like a cat.
      I loved him so very much and in the last 4 years he came to fill a huge roll in Scott's life too.  We joke that if I hadn't learned patience and tolerance from grumpy Bailey that I might never have fallen in love with cranky Scott. Scott even used Bailey to propose to me, in a small dog tuxedo-one of my favorite memories.    Scott and he were so much alike.    They would cuddle on the couch-and Bailey quickly trained Scott to do his bidding.  It took Scott a couple of years to realize that he was catering to the shih tzu.
      Bailey and Molly were part of our engagement photos.  We obviously love our dogs and consider them part of the family.  When Bailey passed away Sunday morning it was like losing a family member-a child almost.  It's a huge hole and the house seems very lonely and sad.  I know it will get easier...and this pain pails in comparison to the YEARS of joy that Bailey gave me and Scott too.  It was worth it.
     

Sometimes a bigger heart ISN'T better

Bailey just turned 13.  For a dog his size this is senior status but not the end of the road.  He has plenty of life in him but some of his internal systems are starting to need support.  He has kidney problems and has to eat special-CRAY EXPENSIVE- food.  He goes to the vet every 6 months, sometimes more.  One issue is his heart.  He has a murmur now and we did an exray a year and a half ago to get a baseline.    I have a list of issues to "watch" for that could show a progression.  One is coughing.  Last night we had ALLOT of coughing.  It was scary and upsetting and landed us both at the vet early this morning.  Another xray showed his heart had grown and was possible pressing on his trachea-causing the coughing.  The dr said this was considered slow progression and put him on some new meds.  Basically he now gets blood pressure medicine.  That's how he rolls.  The vet gave me a short list of side effects to watch for with the new meds and one made me laugh out loud-DEPRESSION.  A 13 yr old shih tzu comes across as "depressed" on his best days.  I brainstormed with a friend on signs to watch for.  Feel free to comment and share more:
1.  If Bailey starts wearing black (granted I control his wardrobe)
2.  If he stops contacting his canine cohorts
3.  Unusual piercings
4.  He stops talking
5.  Starts pawing morose poems...a shih tzu manifesto if you will
6.  If I come home and he is watching that awful ASPCA commercial over and over

In all seriousness-he will be fine.   I knew he would likely need these meds eventually.  He is too grumpy to be done yet;)

FA LA LA LA LA LA

Woohoo-now that Thanksgiving time is behind us we can all officially gear up toward Christmas!!!  This is my first Married Christmas and I am pretty excited.  Scott is still warming up to all my festive-ness, but I think I am gaining ground.  For example I think I have him almost convinced to take the dogs to see Santa this weekend.  We'll see:)

I have some fun holiday ideas that I have bookmarked over the year.  I wanted to share with you, my loyal reader (s.)  Maybe these will spark some ideas for you and your loved ones!!

1.  Gift Certificate for a custom pet painting.  You might recall I had a small Bailey oil painting done, which I love.  This is a fun idea (and would allow me to get Molly painted too!)
A Pooch Portrait.
2. I love this etsy shop.  They do these cool prints of states, including all the cities.  Pic below.  Great gift for someone who like b/w prints or is far from home. 
Great State Print

3.  I love navy and white.  LOVE!!!  This little clutch was on my list this summer and I never got around to ordering it.  I think its nice to be reminded that warm weather will come back.

Handmade Navy and White purse

 4. I love monogrammed anything-and I really like these fun monogrammed necklaces.  I think it would be sweet to have a "C, S and P."  Love how delicate they are.
Monogrammed Necklace

5.  I collect pigs.  In secret-and VERY selectively.  I love this with a passion.  I shared with Scott-I don't think he was phased by my pig speaker lust!!!
Porcelain Pig Ipod Speaker

6.  New monogrammed stationary or market tote, or beach bag for that matter.  I am sad that all my favorite things have my old initials. 

The First 100 Days

As of today, Scott and I have been married 100 days.  I know it's slightly random to count the days-but I mentioned to Scott that I wished I had noted our 1,000 days together mark and since I forgot to pay attention he said I could pay attention to our first 100 days.  I think most do a state of the state after 100 days.  Here goes:
1.  We have finished 90% of our upstairs home remodel.  We are down to little things like switch plates.
2.  Scott moved his furniture from the garage into our new house-now every room has something in it!!
3.  We completely skipped the month of September it seems.  Really-where did it go?
4.  We have been to Bed Bath and Beyond approximately 10 times.  Each time Scott hates it more.
5.  All thank you notes are finished, sent and hopefully received.
6.  We bought ourselves a wedding gift-a hot tub.  More on that later
7.  We attended 2 UT football games, or shall I say tailgates.  The team lost both games-they do that allot this year.
8.  We moved upstairs in the new house.
9.  We introduced our parents and family to one another.
10. We cemented the fact that we both dislike disorganization and clutter.  However we define what this means differently. 
11.  We spent 5 nights apart-while I traveled for work to SF and NY.
12.  We realized that renovating a house is stressful and hard.  It has caused more arguments that we are used too. 
13.  I proved that you can use your china everyday if you simply decide to do so.  Scott is convinced our china bowls are changing shape in the dishwasher.  I am not certain I disagree:)
14. We bought a new washer-which I am so excited about!!!  Scott hints at the fact that I "broke" the old one on purpose.  All I can say-I am happy the old one is broken.
15.  Being married "feels" different.  Not sure I can quantify why-but it does.  We naturally split tasks and chores.  It is like having a teammate that you can count on and that you really enjoy spending time with. 

So far so good!!  Outlook is better than most after a mere 100 days-yep i am talking to you politicians!!

Shih Tzu Art-Bailey in Oil

OK-if you already think I am a crazy dog lady I would encourage you to stop reading this now.  It's about to get worse, much worse. 

I stumbled upon this blog- http://www.yellowbrickhome.com/.  I have been enjoying it very much.  Then I realized they did custom pet portraits-http://www.yellowbrickhome.com/shop/  I have always wanted one of my dogs...and put the idea on the back burner.  The stars aligned in September and they ran a special.  SIGN ME UP.  They do small portraits so I decided to get Bailey's done first.  Molly will have her time in the sun later, as to not show any favoritism.

I picked a few photos I really liked and consulted with the artists.  The day it arrived was like Christmas!!  So exciting.

Bailey in oil. 

The portrait with the muse (who does not look amused.)

Bailey is over the photo shoot and the portrait. 

Our Wedding Celebration-Guests and Dancing

Scott and I has the age old struggle getting our guest list where we needed it to be.  We ended up with about 125 people at our party-which was perfect.  Even with that few people though we felt we didn't get to spend allot of time with every single person.  Nature of the beast.

We knew we wanted a band-and we had them picked very early on.  At the end of the night guests kept paying them to stay longer, and play the same songs again-which I think is a sign of a good party.

I danced and danced and danced.  I even got Scott, the anti dancer on to the floor for a slow song or two.  I truly had so much fun.  It was the best party I have ever been too!!

I want to comment though on the amount of time and effort that goes into something that looks rather effortless.  I had a ton of family and friend help.  My dad and uncle hung the Chinese lanterns.  Heather made the door letter-hot gluing moss for hours.  Jen sewed all the pendant banners and created my cake topper.  She also helped me convert my black and white logo into the colors I wanted.  Kara wrangled all the formal portrait people and finished the dessert buffet.  My mom and grandma handled everything from cocktail stirrers to setting up all the tables.  Scott's Aunt Ann did the guest book table and many bows and wreaths.  Every single person there catered to Scott and I at the party-we never had an empty drink which was kind of fantastic-until the next day;)  Everyone pitched in which was fantastic.  I tried to relinquish control and let people do what they do best.  The results were better than I anticipated.  It was my vision-but so much better.

Our first dance.  We laughed through the entire thing.

Shaun and Alison...this had to be before 9:30:)

A middle of the dance floor toast-friends coming together....kumbuya....

The dance floor from above.  That's me in the center.

Later in the evening we had some synchronous dancing.  Like a flash mob-but smaller and likely to the tune of Rocky Top.

Some of our guests enjoying a dance floor slow song.  This is the only proof I have that Scott and I took to the floor after the "first dance."  This is like seeing a lion in the wild, very rare.  Scott NEVER dances.  He refused to believe it was true-until he saw the picture.  It was that kind of night for many of us-pieces slipped away:)

I love seeing friends cut loose.  It reminds us all that they used to not have children and they still are pretty cool when they get the chance to go out and have fun! 

One of my favorite pictures from the evening.  Scott is missing, but this was on the dance floor so this is not uncommon.  It was a fantastic night!!!

Wedding Party- Fashion

I had an epic hard time finding a wedding dress.  I tried on GADS.  I went all over town.  I knew what I didn't want but could not figure out exactly what I did want.  I started out leaning toward something short.  I prefer short dresses because of my height and I knew I didnt want to wear heels because of Scott's height;)  I was swayed to consider a long dress since this might be one of the only times I get to wear one.  I went with many different people.  I ended up with something I liked but was it my dream dress-not exactly.  But the dress wasn't my biggest priority-and I was OK with being 90% sure on it.  Like I said previously I cared allot more about the feel of the party than my wardrobe.  Even though I was a bit obessed with having mild curls and a fun birdcage veil-both of which I had!!


Full view of my formal wedding dress. 



Slight close up of my formal dress.  Obviously one shoulder-silk chiffon with embellishment on the strap and hip.  Ruching as well.



A pretty good picture of my fascinator and birdcage veil. 

Good side view of the fascinator.  Bad picture of me-but for the sake of documentation I wanted you all to see how cute it was!!!

The short cocktail dress which I changed into after the first dance.  This was also what I wore for the wedding.  I kept my fascinator in but took off my veil for dancing.