Kirby at Home

Whew! You have missed so much going on in my life. So, where do I start? On June 10, 2010, I celebrated one year of being a homeowner. I guess we can start there. June 10, 2009, I signed for my very first house. This was going to be my house! I could design it how I wanted (fat chance), I could paint it the colors I wanted (in my dreams), and I could be out of my parents house in 3 months, tops (who are we kidding!?!). Notice my sarcasm? Well, this cute house that I just fell in love with needing much more than paint. My parents, who were great and helped me through it all, knew what I was getting myself into, but I was living in "first time home owner fantasy land" apparently. I was completely and totally unaware/ unprepared of what was to come the next few months. My new home needed everything, and I mean everything done to it. Come to find out, I am terrible at picking out paint colors, so I needed lots of help there. I also had no clue about how to design a new kitchen, bathroom, etc., so I needed loads of help there. Everything was a joint effort, but I am so thankful I had all of my parent’s help and support or it would have never gotten finished! Turns out, I knew nothing of remodeling a house! All but two of the paint colors I picked out came out terrible. Let's just say I have a few gallons of paint in the barn just sitting there.

Note to self* buy the samples before you buy the gallon!

Anyway, last summer was spent painting, tearing up floors and knocking down walls, installing central heating and air, refinishing hard woods, getting a new roof, adding a front porch, designing a kitchen, and more painting. There were many late nights, lots of hard work and sweat, and even a few tears (and blood!). Then, there was the purchasing. The purchasing of all new appliances, lighting, ceiling fans, etc (this was the fun part!). Next thing I knew, I was

opening up my very own Home Depot Credit Card. Yay for 12 months no interest! Somewhere around October/November I was able to fully move into my home, but it wasn't home yet. It wasn't until I decorated for Christmas that it started to feel like home…a good six months later.

Somewhere in the midst of all the renovations, I got a Yorkie puppy named Milly. Now, as sad as it all sounds, and it was very, very sad, I'd prefer not to forget her. This is why she is being mentioned. About six and a half weeks after I got her, I came home one night to the most terrible site ever...she was really sick. Hours at the vet and up all night with her, she passed that morning...................................................

October 4th, I went to Atlanta with my sister to go look at a Yorkie/Poo puppy someone wanted to "rehome". That's the term craigslist uses because they aren't allowed to sell animals or something like that. We went and visited this pup, and this was not the pup for me. First of all, it was a boy. A boy!? What do I do with a boy dog? No bows or dresses, forget that! Second, this pup was wild! So, we left to "think it over" and ended up at the Atlanta Humane Society. http://www.atlantahumane.org There, I had the heartstrings pulled to help this one tiny little grey pup. The lady handed her to me, and she was almost lifeless. I couldn't say no, so after a little paper work and a small fee, I was the proud parent of a Maltese, Poodle, or mix. She was approximately 6 months old, probably 4-5 pounds, and again, lifeless. I cried the entire way home. Not sure if it was because she wasn't Milly, or because I was just scared of being a pup parent again. Anyway, long story short, got her home, fell in love, took her to the vet, and found

out she was sick. After a week in the hospital at the Atlanta Humane Society (Big thanks to them for being so great and footing the bill! If you are looking for a new pet, please consider adoption!) I brought her home and discovered the sweetest little personality ever! After a bath, I realized she was cream/white in color. I then figured out she was originally grey because of the newspaper clippings she was living in. So, now I have a new pet who adores me (doesn't that make you feel great?); however, she doesn't adore anyone else. She is the product of a puppy mill, http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/" so she probably had no interaction unless it was unkind until the Atlanta Humane Society got her. We're working on that and now 8 months later, she has come way out of her shell!! She's even getting to like some people! Oh, by the way, her name is Pixie...her adopted name was Sarah Palin. That was way too big of a name for such a little pup!