RIP KOTA! 

Just over a week ago our lives were forever rocked by the death of our beloved dog. It would have been 3 years in October, when we brought Kota home. It had taken MONTHS to talk my husband into letting the kids & me to get a dog, so it was months of looking at different sites to find just the right puppy.  We weighed the good & bad, over & over. We knew getting a dog wasn't going to be easy. Of course we asked friends if any of them would be willing to help watch a dog for us, when we needed to leave town. We had many that said, yes, but in the end we ended up with only one who we could count on.
My son new what he wanted from the first day he saw a picture of Toy Australian Shepherd puppies. There was one puppy, with just his nose sticking out, who just happened to stick out from the rest. "MOM, THAT IS THE PUPPY I WANT!", are words that will forever ring in my head. My husband went on a trip & said if they are still there, when he gets home, he will think about it. Well, he came home & all the puppies had been sold. We went back to looking for just the right puppy. Months went by & then a picture of a puppy came up for sale. The lady & I messaged back & forth for a few weeks. My husband & I went to a concert & met up with the family to see the dog. She gave him to me to hold & I was in love. He snuggled up into my neck & I knew then this was our puppy. I asked the family where they got him from & the lady started to tell me where. Well, come to find out that the little guy I was holding was the same puppy with just his nose sticking out from under the other puppies. He was meant to be part of our family all along, but another family had to have the chance to love him first.  One of the main reasons we got him was for Devin, to help Devin with his anxiety. Having Kota helped him with that & so much more. Kota helped us all, in many ways & we thank him for that.

The next day the kids came home, after spending the night with friends, to our newest member of the family. They were so excited & I am very glad I recorded them meeting for the first time. It's a recording that will forever be part of our lives so we will never forget.
We decided on Kota for his name. Of course he ended up with many nicknames, Kocopuff, Puffy, KT Puff N Stuff, Kokies, Koco, Kodie, Sir Puffy Pants, Koco deMarkers & many more. He answered to every single one too. Oh, his name, before we got him, was Raider, yah NO, we weren't going to keep that name.

Kota, in the short time we had him, brought us a lot of joy. Of course there were times that we were like UGH, KOTA!!!!!!! He gave the BEST hugs ever!!!!! We had trained him to do a few tricks. One of our favorites was playing football with Devin. He had been doing so good about staying in the yard, when we were out there with him.
This past week has been so hard & when I think of him all I want to do is cry. :( He had become a HUGE part of our lives & more then just a dog.


Kota was hit by a car, a week ago, this past, Friday.   He was getting so good at not running towards cars, when they went by. That day he got away from Taryn & took off after the SUV, but this time he ran right into it. The vet said he got caught & was drug a bit, which tore him open. We never thought he would leave us forever. All we thought was we were going to have a long hall to get him healed up & no longer in pain. This was going to take a long time & we were prepared to figure out what it would take to do this. He had a rip from his pelvis to his collar bone, with road rash inside & out.  We were able to spend some time with Kota, the morning before he passed away, while we talked with the vet about where to go from here. That afternoon, we got a call saying he had passed away.  Life has not been the same, this week. It is hard to wake up & go to bed knowing he isn't with us. We had a routine with him so now not having that routine has really messed our lives up. There will never ever be another dog like our Kota. We miss him so much!!!! :(  After he passed away, the kids & I were like no more animals, we are done. For what ever reason animals don't stay with us for very long & I am tired of losing them so early.

Last night, the kids both said, "Mom, we need a dog!".  I had been looking here & there, this past week, at different sites to see what there was to be adopted or buy. Nothing really stood out, not even a cat. There were a few, last night, but they are in States a bit to far to drive for a pet.
We know Kota will give us a sign, when it is time for a new pet & will lead us to just the right puppy.

Am I ready for a new dog? Yes & No!!!  We have found out how hard it is to have a dog. It wasn't easy at all to make plans & figure out what we were going to do with Kota. He hated going to the kennel. He hated to be alone & would get depressed when ever he was alone. He even hated when the kids were in school. He slept all day & hardly ever came out, until he knew it was time for his kids to be home. He loved his kids so much & his kids loved him.

We don't do a lot as a family but we try to do some stuff here & there. We had to change plans because of having to babysit another friend's dog, but they take Kota, so I had to deal with not doing anything this Summer.  I would not have changed a thing though because Kota was part of our family & to keep him happy, it was worth it.   Am I ready to give up my life for another dog? I don't know because even though I miss him so bad, I won't miss having to worry about what where he will need to go so we can go out of town. :(  Time will tell.

Garnier Olia Bzz Campaign

As a BzzAgent, I got to try out the new hair color product, Garnier Olia. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!!! There is a nice variety of colors to choose from & so easy to use. The smell doesn't smell up the house so that your family will complain about the smell for hours. There was no mess, at all. I loved the black gloves that came in the box. They made the experience fun & feel like I was pampering myself. LOL!
I was impressed that there were so many rows of colors sold out. That right there told me that a lot of people were trying Garnier Olia for themselves & that it must be a good product if so many people were trying it out.
I would recommend Garnier Olia to anyone who asks about my hair color. GREAT PRODUCT, GO TRY IT OUT, TODAY!
<img src="https://img.bzzagent.com/image/olia.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=4071602637&Campaign=8240009424&Uid=1016853&token=777cda0e9fa42a7bde6ed5d3427cc89e" alt=""/>

<img src="https://img.bzzagent.com/image/blastflipstick.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=8685210688&Campaign=1937617816&Uid=1016853&token=a62ee424d60bccc246ff1dd1b44803c4" alt=""/>

I love being a BzzAgent!!!! It is great to be able to try products for free with absolutely NO, ZERO, catch at all.
I was just selected to try, one of, Covergirl's newest products, the Blast Flipstick. I was sent 3 different sticks, with 2 colors in each stick. You can wear each color alone, or mix them to make your own blend. It was fun to try these lipsticks and play with them to see what colors I could come up with.
I am not a HUGE lipstick wearer, so I got some strange looks from my family when they saw me with lipstick on. I do wear colored chapstick, once and a while, so not sure what the big deal was. LOL!
The lipstick has a nice feel, not heavy at all. It does run a but so I would suggest wearing a lip liner, something I don't have on hand.
I also like the packaging because I have not had the tops fall off in my purse or makeup bag. A lot of my lipsticks, that I do wear, the tops fall off and then the lipstick gets ruined and I have to throw it out.
I would suggest this product to anyone who loves to wear lipstick. Again, it is a fun way to get different looks, so go out and check to see what colors appeal to you and try them out, today.

HGTV

HOW COULD PEOPLE BE SO STUPID?? Why ohhhh why would anyone want to say NO to a guy coming up to you with cameras to offer you a new bathroom, yard or another room in your house for free? I laugh every time I watch these shows & wish it was me they were asking, 'cause I would say YES in a heart beat. A person has to wonder why these people are saying no. What are they hiding???
This is a dream for so many of us to have our housed crashed, plus learn how to do some of the work, all this for FREE.
My whole house & yard need to be crashed, so HGTV crashers, come crash me any time. I'll be waiting.

Been A While

It has been a while since my last blog post. I love to write but seems as the days go by the less interested I am in doing so much of the things I love to do.
I did get busy this past winter, so I guess that is part of my excuse. Excuses are what I do best.
It has been a tough month for me. I lost my grandma a month ago & I am still hurting a lot. So much more has been going on too but won't bore you with it all.
Losing Grandma was not easy at all. She was the last of our family since we lost our mom in '92. She was the glue that kept us together. I caught myself wanting to call her the day we got home, the day after her funeral. I put my keys down, saw the phone & said, wow, I should really call Grandma soon. I have caught myself thinking that a few times since. I sure do miss you a lot & going home, the next year, is going to be hard. I am pretty sure I will tear up, knowing she won't be there to go visit.
I won't be going back to the MS to work, this school year. Not to sad about not going back for many reasons. I will miss it though, because there are some great kids there that I am so glad I got to know the three months I got to work there.
I am trying to get the house freshened up for the winter, so started by getting a fresh coat of paint in Tia's bedroom. Now to get stuff back on the walls & build shelves in her closet. Then I have to do the same, except for paint, in Devin's room. I will then keep moving through the house until it is all freshly painted or redone in some way or another.
I am also going to try and china paint a bit more this winter. I really love to china paint, one of my favorite crafts.
I need to start to work on me & think about me, but that probably won't happen because since I won't be working & at home day in and day out, others will always come first.
OMG!! Change of subject. I am watching a movie & had to turn up the volume because hubby is in the basement snoring up a storm. I had to turn it up pretty loud too, to not hear him. Good Grief!!!

Summer Fireflies

Little lights to light our way, they are the Summer Fireflies.

Dancing in the moon light to natures songs.

Children laughing, chasing after these little dancing lights. 

Jars come out to catch a few to light a path to home.

Lying in the grass looking at the stars and the light of the Summer Fireflies. 

How I would love the joys of the Summer Fireflies all year around, but Winter comes so quick here in the North. Now I see Dreamlights lighting up the night to bring us back to Summer and the joys of the Summer Fireflies. Just looking at the Dreamlights, when it's 0 above, will warm our hearts & know that we see the real Summer Fireflies again in a few months. 

Busy as a Bee!

I have been as busy as a bee as of late so I have not done any writing on my blog in a while.  The last few months have been crazy busy. Taryn is now in ice skating lessons but tomorrow will be her last day and that is the last of the three skating programs. She has said she wants to skate again in the Fall and well I am looking forward to it. I think we better start saving now because skating is not cheap at all. Devin has shown interest too and says he wants to next year. I should really think about getting a better paying job to pay for them both being in the program. UGH!! I guess if it makes them happy it doesn't matter how much it is, right? LOL!
Next Sunday Taryn will be 5. WOW! Where has the time gone? I said last year that I wanted the last 4 years back since they went by so fast, so now you know what I am thinking this year. Yup, I want the last 5 back now and the last 9 of Devin's :(
The school year is almost over and I am happy but yet sad. I am so proud of both my kids for doing so well in school. They are both so smart and enjoy learning new things so that has made these first few school years so much easier. Now when it comes to getting them to do their homework, well that is a whole different story. YIKES! Devin's teacher says how good Devin is in school. I told her ya, I know, I think all his teachers brain wash them by getting them to listen at school and then being total stinkers when they get home. LOL! I am glad he is good in school and other public places and then a stinker at home. At least I know my child isn't causing trouble and I won't get called to school because he did some thing really bad, well at least not for now.
I guess this is going to be it for tonight. I am pooped out and have a L O N G day tomorrow. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful rest of the weekend!