Andy's Story

It's absolutely no secret that I have no shortage of love and compassion in my heart for furry lil' friends. Mike and I consider ourselves to be a "bulldog family" and we've always talked about expanding our clan to include more furballs. We hadn't made any plans to adopt any time soon as we just weren't sure if we were ready. Plus finding the perfect pup to add to an already full house takes time. We took Georgia with us when we met Pipkin, just to make sure they got along. We went back home and slept on it before making the final decision to say yes and welcome her into our lives. That was over a year ago and I can say without any hesitation that bringing another bulldog into our family was the best decision we've made. Georgia is always ecstatic to have a playmate, and the chemistry between the two is undeniable. It's smart to be wary of messing that up. But when a reader asked me on Tumblr yesterday if I knew of any shelters that had Frenchies, I never expected the outcome to be this. Another Tumblr friend left a comment to PetFinder, and I clicked out of sheer interest. A sweet little pup named Andy popped up from Tennessee and I went into love-sick mode. This little pup was part of the French Bulldog Rescue Network and I was amazed at this organization. Mike came home from a photo job and instantly let out an "Aww!". We were sold. We read his bio, learned that he was a "special needs" pup and we talked about it. We talked about adopting him and if we'd be a good match. We learned that these pups often have 150+ applications for forever homes. We decided to throw our name into the hat anyway. Just in case.

We knew that even if we didn't hear back, he'd go to a good home. He would find a forever family that could deal with his condition and give him unconditional love no matter what. If we weren't those people, we were totally fine with that. If we were those people, then that simply meant that maybe, just maybe, we were the perfect match for him. Believe me when I say a lot goes into adopting from the FBRN. It's on par with adopting a child in terms of the application, the questions, the home evaluation (yep!), etc. They also say it could take up to 8 weeks to hear anything back. Imagine my surprise when I had an email from Andy's foster mom today! Less than 24 hours after! His foster mom wanted to touch base with us and make sure we were aware of the severity of his condition, and everything it entailed. With that we decided to drive over to our vet and have a chat with him. To our relief he was very familiar with Andy's condition and he offered some really great insight into just how serious it is.

Andy has mega-esophagus, often referred to as mega-e. What this means is that his esophagus is enlarged, or partially collapsed, and it makes it much much harder for him to swallow/consume food. Andy is only 13 weeks old and he just happened to be born with the condition. He comes from a champion blood line, but something simply went wrong with him. The only way to treat Andy's condition is to feed him a raw diet with the consistency of "mush" and to hold him, like a small child, in your lap for the immediate 15 minutes following so gravity can help pull the food into his stomach. All sorts of things can go wrong, including getting pneumonia and even choking to death. I emailed his foster mom back with a million and one questions and she was sweet enough to call me so we could chat. We sat on the phone for a half hour and talked about everything under the sun. She assured me he was a perfectly normal pup with the exception of his eating. He's litter box trained (yep, a dog!), hyper, and really really fat (aw!). 

She expressed her appreciation that we went as far as to even speak with our vet to make sure this is something we could handle as a family, and medically speaking. That's not to say he won't have major side effects from the mega-e in the future, but we have to finally weigh our decision on whether or not we feel equipped to handle his situation. Apparently we are the front runners, as she said if we feel like the right fit for Andy she didn't want to call anyone else. Of course we're welcome to say no, too, simply so he goes to the best family. We have a big decision to make. It's obvious that there is no shortage of love for this little pup, and I know G and Pip would love a little brother. We simply must decide if we're in the position to give Andy the attention he needs. We're lucky that we work from home and can monitor his feedings, but we also have to take into consideration the financial aspect for the future. His foster mom sent us 6 (!!!) wonderfully adorable videos of him today and our hearts are positively melting. He's such a doll and we hope that we can be his forever family. It would take a lot out of us, but we feel so incredibly drawn to him that it's almost impossible to say no.

We're trying to remain objective in the situation and make the best decision for everyone involved. Hard right? If we decide to push forward with the process then our application will be submitted by his foster mom to the board at FBRN and they will conduct a home-study/home-evaluation/inspection to make sure our home/family is suitable for Andy. There's a ton of hoops to jump through but it's a process with a wonderful payoff.

Do you have any special needs pets? Or ever had a dog with Mega-e? Any words of wisdom for our big decision?

PS; We know about the Bailey Chair and other items meant to help with the passage of food from the throat to the stomach. If we adopt Andy we will absolutely be looking into purchasing a Bailey chair or making our own!

halloween costumes

ever since we first saw "Up" in theatres, we thought that marcos looked just like little russell. so when halloween came around, of course, we had to dress him up like him. 
we didn't decide until the night before last friday that we were going to dress him up for our work party, but i think that it turned out pretty good. take a look!

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Was everyones weekend filled with pumpkin carving, costumes, and lots and lots of candy?! I know mine was.  One day a year we get to dress up in crazy and outrageous costumes and either get a treat or play a trick! Which would you prefer? trick or treat?!

My post today is all about pumpkins and the creative things you can do with them. 

Starting off we have our traditional orange pumpkin! Who bakes pumpkin seeds after they are done carving? add a little garlic salt and yum yum!

Next we have the ghost pumpkins.  This is the first year I have ever come across ghost pumpkins.  They are completely all white. I think they could possibly be my favorite.

Next we have pirate pumpkins.  Don't you think they look like something you would see in Pirates of the Caribbean? I am not particularly a fan, but hey, interesting at the least!

The pumpkin patch I went to was up in Vernon,  Canada at a place called Davidson Orchards. There were kids running around everywhere picking which specific pumpkin they wanted. 

All over the orchard were "people" made with pumpkins! How funny are these pictures.  The effort and creativity that went into these displays was awesome!

 I found this sign at the orchard and I just fell in love.  Autumn is in full effect!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun night out trick or treating!!! 

Remember tomorrow is BUBBLY TUESDAY!! start thinking of what you are going to do to make your Tuesday Bubbly and link up to show everyone :)

xo

A Poor Man's Dorothy

First off, let me just say this: Holy cow! Y'all really blew me away in response to yesterday's post. Your comments were so eloquent, sincere, and wonderful. It's so great to know that even in our vulnerable/uncomfortable situations, we're never alone. It's literally going to take me weeks to get back to everyone but please know that I've already started working on it! Also know that I read absolutely every single comment (about three times each!) and I'm so proud to call this little slice of the internet mine! You humble me daily and I'm so glad you can be part of my journey!

Since today is Halloween (Happy Halloween, by the way!) I thought I'd post what I wore to work on Saturday night for our "costume contest". I don't really get too wrapped up in Halloween (I know... so boring of me!) and I didn't want to spend any money (Frugal McDoogal!), so I opted to take the Speedy Girl dress from this post and style it up like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. I didn't want to DIY any glitter shoes so I just wore some red flats and braided my hair. Close enough right? I spent exactly ZERO cents. Win! Maybe I'll get crafty next year, but this year I was fine just cruisin' through! It was a successful night at work (for the most part. May or may not have had a verbal showdown with an incredibly insufferable gentleman) and I'm ready to be productive this week!

Yesterday was spent thrifting and fawning over a rescue/special needs puppy we have our heart set on. More on that at another time! 

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? (Or what have you this weekend?) Did you do anything super fun and exciting for the ~holiday?!

Cupcake Princess dress c/o Speedy Girl

Forever 21 cardigan

Black tights c/o Foot Traffic

Go Max flats via PLNDR

Thrifted belt

Repairing String Lights on the Pergola: Welcome to the 145th Metamorphosis Monday!

A few years ago I purchased some outdoor string lighting from Hobby Lobby.  It was perfect for my deck(s) because it was white and the decks are painted white.  I spent several hours one afternoon, running it around the top of the pergola to the right of the screened-in porch and under the arm rail of the deck to the left of the porch.

Within the year, something chewed through the wiring in several places on both decks.  Eventually I removed the wiring from under the handrail on the deck on the left.   You can just see it in this pic (below) taken before it was removed.  It was so pretty lit up...made me sad to remove it.  But the critter damage was in a place that couldn't easily be repaired.

A friend repaired the damaged area of the lighting on the pergola side.

It was chewed through toward the lower section--the part that runs a few feet away from the bird feeder on that side.

We suspected the damage had been caused by a raccoon because there had been other signs indicating one was visiting the feeder each night.

Picture from Wikipedia

Within months of the repair, It (whatever It is) did it again.  Grrrr!  Not amused.  You can see the chopped off wiring at the bottom of this pic below.

I guess it's partly my fault because I have feeders hanging off the decks and that tends to draw "wildlife" to your home.

But if I place the feeders down in the yard, I can't see them at all unless I walk over to the edge of the porch and stand there looking down.   Plus, the feeders would be so far away from the porch, I would barely even be able to see the birds when they came to eat.  I love sitting on the porch and watching them swoop down from the trees to feed just a few feet away.

I tried bringing the feeders in at night, but I often forgot until it was pitch black dark outside.  And no way this girl was plucking feeders off the deck in the dark.  Here in the south, GIANT cockroaches come out at night--the kind you can saddle up and ride.  I was not taking a chance on a close encounter with one of those...not even to save my outdoor wiring!

I finally solved the "forgetting" problem by setting the alarm on my cell phone to go off each night around dusk.  Once I began remembering to bring in the feeders each evening, whatever was coming to dine, stopped coming.

This past week, I went down into the backyard and retrieved the section of wiring that had been chewed off this last time.  You can see it lying there on the deck floor.  I got out my step ladder and started to take all the wiring down, but then I stopped.  I decided to give it one more try since I'm bringing the feeders in now.

(Please note: This post  is not a tutorial for lighting repair.  Please do not try this at home based on my post.   It's best to always seek a professional electrician when you are in need of electrical work or for a repair.)

I got out my needle nose wire cutters and snipped into the wire near the end where it had been chewed through.

I barely cut into it, being careful to not cut all the way through to the copper wires inside.

I striped off the protective covering exposing about an inch of the copper wiring.  See that chewed up arm in the background.  It also munched on my brown outdoor wicker. :(

I did this to all four damaged wires.  They had all been completely chewed through.

Then I twisted each pair of wires together to reestablish the connection.

I covered the ends with some little yellow wire caps I had saved from a previous lighting purchase/installation.

And since this wiring is outdoors, I also wrapped the ends with white electrical tape to hopefully help protect it during rain storms.

I ran the wiring down the back side of one of the pillars supporting the pergola, all the while praying the wiring was still going to be long enough to reach the outlet on the deck.  I couldn't remember exactly how long it had been before.

It just barely reached, but it did reach.  Would my repair work?

Yes!    Yipee!

Repaired, once again.

A nighttime view at 10:00 PM Saturday evening.

I lit the candles on the candlelier, too--just for you!. :)

Unfortunately, one globe is missing...you can read about that raccoon disaster in THIS post.  If you know where I can find another one just like these 5, please let me know.  The candelier was from Smith and Hawken and it sold out almost as soon as they got it in.  I just barely got one before they were all gone.  Then a year or two later, S & H went out of business.  I tried to buy more globes when they were selling the candleliers, in case I dropped one, one day--but they were out of them and never got them back in.

I'm not sure why this pic below came out so nice and bright.  The lighting isn't this bright in person, but it isn't as dark on the deck as the pics above, either.  The string lighting really adds a lot to this deck.  I love turning it on in the evening and enjoying it from inside on the porch.  When guests are visiting, it's especially nice to have the deck(s) lit up.  Lighting creates such a special atmosphere, be it inside or out.

This picture below is the most accurate of how the porch looks at night with the pergola lit up.  It's really pretty with candles on the table underneath the candlelier.

Keeping my fingers crossed nothing comes dining on my lighting again.  Do you have exterior lighting on your deck?  Had any problems with raccoons or critters chewing on it?

To see more of the screened-in porch and deck construction, click HERE and HERE and HERE.

To read about 9 awesome features you may want to consider including when building a screened-in porch, click HERE.

You'll find additional details about the porch construction (flooring, size, sheers etc...) under the FAQ category at the top of this blog.

Again, let me say, this post is not a tutorial for lighting repair.  I'm not an electrician.  I recommend you always call a licensed electrician when you have a lighting repair or issue in your home.  

Looking forward to your Before and After!

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*If you are reading this via email or RSS feed, to view all the tablescapes linked for Tablescape Thursday, click HERE.



Metamorphosis Monday:
If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday you will need to link up the permalink to your MM post and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top of your blog, into the "url" box for InLinkz.

If you'd like to include the MM button in your post, just copy and paste the Met Monday button to your computer or grab the html code from underneath the MM logo under the "BNOTP Parties" header at the top of this blog.

In order to link up, you'll need to include a link in your MM post back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch so your regular readers will be able to find the Met Monday party which ensures your friends and fellow bloggers will receive lots of visits, too.

PLEASE DO NOT type in all caps...it spreads the links waaaay out. Thanks!

Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course.


Welcome! Thanks for coming to the party!

Honest To Blog -- Ulterior Motives

I'm going to preface this week's Honest to Blog with this: This is is no way meant to hurt anyone's feelings, call anyone out, or point the finger/play the blame game. Instead I'm going to touch base on a topic much like my original post that spawned this weekly feature simply to share my newfound point of view.

I love meeting people through blogging. I'm so awkward and shy in person that it makes it hard for me to branch out and meet people. Plus I'm always working on something. I have a group of friends I wouldn't trade for the world, but I'm very cautious as to who I decide to associate with. I'm not sure what pushed me in that direction, but I don't like to just hang out with any ol' person. Blogging has given me an outlet to meet so many like-minded people all while I still manage to be productive. 4 out of 6 of my bridesmaids were met online/through blogging in some way. But I've started to become very particular with who I befriend and associate with online, just like in person. I've recently started paying much more attention to the way people conduct themselves and how they choose to go about communicating online. I've come to notice that so many people in the blogging world whose blogs I've read for months/years are simply part of a giant circle-jerk crowd. I don't want to be friends with someone because it may earn me more pageviews. I don't want to say yes to a guest posting invitation because I think I might get a handful of new followers. I won't lie, at one point that was probably a thought that fueled some of my actions, but being where I stand now I realize that that really isn't what it's about. I'm starting to resent the air of "strategy" that so many bloggers have.

Confession: A few months ago (as recent as a few weeks even!) I was ready to cut the cord to this blog and walk away. It started to not be fun for me. I started to recognize people for their ulterior motives and I even fell victim to blogging drama and catty girl hate. I've talked about the passive aggressive digs and all the messy stuff that comes with. This is blogging. It's honestly not too removed from high school. There are stuck up people, people who want to ride the coattails of others, manipulative people and ones who just want to undermine you for their own benefit. Blogging isn't the rainbow filled bubble we (I, especially) want to think it is. I get so much motivation, support, and inspiration from girls in the blogging world, but that really is just one side of it.

I never want blogging to seem like a popularity contest, but more often than not that's exactly what it is. People will judge how good your blog is based on how many followers you have or giveaways you offer. But blogging has become immensely more enjoyable for me since I stopped reading bloggers I would constantly side-eye and started reading the blogs of my followers. I absolutely love when y'all leave a link to your blog along with your comments! A simple URL works just fine, as ones who leave 3 or 4 lines of self promotion and "OMG come check out my giveaway" get marked as spam. (Again, in it for yourself. Genuine comments are a great way to become part of a close-knit community... just don't turn into That Blogger!). I'm the world's worst commenter but chances are highly likely that if you've left your URL in my comments then I've visited your blog. I follow mostly via Google Reader and I read almost, but not quite every post (sometimes it's overwhelming!), but I'm often at a loss for what to comment with. Anyway, I've noticed how much more inspired I feel when I read blogs that are genuine and void of any agenda. Climbing the circle jerk blog ladder isn't something to aspire to. I've read blogs who got 1+ million hits a month and I started to really look at how they responded to their readers (if at all!) via Twitter and other social media. If they gave absolutely no thought to it, I unfollowed. Even if/when I tweet at someone "higher up" in the blogging world and they are quick to dismiss me only to tweet constantly with their favorite bloggy BFF with "tons of followers", I get insulted. Wouldn't you?! I understand some people get an overwhelming amount of messages and @replies, so if it's a generic "aw!" or "that's so cute/great/awesome/funny!" tweet, I let it slide. But when I/others share sincere comments, it's a harder pill to swallow. I'm not always the best or quickest to respond to everything, but if you tweet at me with a genuine question, concern, comment or just to say hello, I respond back. I respond to every single email I receive too... even if it takes me a week. I'm not a blogging saint, so please don't think I'm trying to say that! But I finally recognize how rude and dismissive some bloggers are... for no reason. If they didn't have readers, they wouldn't be in the position they are now. They wouldn't have sponsorships, partner deals and the opportunities they do (I wouldn't either!). I value my readers so very very much. Even when you speak up and have concerns or constructive criticisms. Sure, the criticisms aren't always the easiest to digest but I try to look at them from a different perspective. Some are helpful and some are just mean. But that doesn't mean they're all malicious.

I know some of you still side-eye me when I say or do things you might think are totally hypocritical or stupid... it's human nature. I do it, too. I very often say/do things that aren't in line with my thoughts/beliefs without realizing. But I hope that each and every one of you read my blog because it inspires you or brings some sort of happiness into your daily lives. Not because I have thousands of followers you could potentially make yours, or in hopes that I link to you randomly. The friendships and relationships I've built from blogging have been some of the absolute best in my life. I don't want people to feel like they have to be sponsors of my blog in order to get mentioned.

I honestly stand behind this next thing that I'm going to say: If my blog doesn't inspire you, bring you genuine happiness or motivate you in any way to be better, feel free to unfollow! If you don't feel like I connect with my readers or give back in a way similar to what y'all give to me, don't feel obligated to read! I mean that with the utmost sincerity, no sarcasm or attitude involved. Explore the blogging world for all it has to offer. Find blogs that really do speak to you, but make sure the blog author is genuine and real. I'm not saying be skeptical of everyone you meet, but be smart. Make sure they're presenting themselves in an honest light. I'm so very far from perfect (and this little blog has all the proof of that!) but I'm willing to acknowledge and learn from my mistakes in hopes that it'll make me a better person. 

If you strive to grow your blog or audience, just make sure you stay true to yourself and look at everything from a grounded perspective. Don't let the hullabaloo of being a "big time blogger" be your driving force. Do it for the people you'll meet, the experiences you'll have, and the stories you have to share!

And while I'm on the topic of awesome audience blogs, leave a link to yours below! I want to get to know you if I haven't already! I'm constantly amazed at how many amazing blogs are out there in my general social circle that I've yet to stumble across! When I find one it's like a big "Ah ha!" moment and I wonder how I had missed it all this time! Please don't ever hesitate to introduce yourselves and send your links! You can always email me, too! (kaelahbee at gmail dot com)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Honest To Blog is a weekly free-writing feature where I share whatever is on my mind. No edits, no filters. Just unapologetic, sometimes offensive, always truthful thought. Click HERE to read all of the past posts in this feature.

This feature has been a saving grace for me and my little blog. I love that you allow me to share my out-there opinions with you even if they're far from popular. It's a wonderful feeling to make LCH a more personal platform.

Halloween Table and Mantel...Spooky!

Happy Weekend! Are you making final preparations for all the goblins and ghouls who will soon be knocking on your door? I'll be heading out today to buy candy.  Then I'll be trying hard to not eat it all by Monday!    What's your tactic for not digging into the candy and eating it before Halloween arrives? Some folks purposely buy stuff they don't like, but where's the fun in that? lol

My friend, Bonnie, has been readying her home for the big day.  I love seeing how Bonnie decorates her dining room hutch for the seasons and holidays.  Come a bit closer and check out her spooky table setting.

Love the orange candlesticks with skeleton candles.  Even the tablecloth is covered with skeletons!

A ghoulishly fun centerpiece!  Let's name him Skelley.   Hope he likes his new nickname.  If he doesn't I'm telling him it was YOUR idea!

Skelley is a little on the vain side.  He placed his image on all the dinnerware for your eating enjoyment.

Here's you place right here.  Won't you sit down, if you dare.  Muwhahahaaaaa

A spider has spun a web to hold your napkin in place.  You may want to use your shirt-tail or sleeve for the evening.  Hahahahahah!

It's getting dark...are you skeered, yet?

Darker still...ooooh.

Wow, Skelley looks a lot more menacing after dark, doesn't he?   I think I'll sit in that chair behind him.  You can sit here in front.  He'd like to talk with you about the name you picked out for him.  ;)

After dinner, let's move into the family room.  You gotta come check out Bonnie's mantel!

Bonnie has bats roosting in her mirror, and we've awakened them with our visit.

Hope they aren't vampire bats!  Yikes!

Bonnie, I'm so glad you are still a kid at heart!  I absolutely loved seeing your home decorated for Halloween.  Thanks for inviting us in!

Click HERE to view additional Holiday Decorating and Tablescapes.

Resources:
Linens & napkin rings - Kohl's, last year
Skull plates - Pottery Barn, last year
Chargers, glasses & Black plates - Marshall's, many years ago
Black & White Checked salad plates -TJ Maxx, this spring
Black wine glasses - Target
Flatware - Either Panache or maybe Ross, years ago
Skull bust and faux Books - Home Goods, last year
Votives - Michael's, last year
Orange candlesticks - Gifts
Skeleton candles - Home Goods