Man Down.

Kip became a little less of a man today. No, not because of his fondness for Louboutins (that's just a sign that he has great taste, he must get it from his mama!), but because he lost his ability to father kittens. Don't get me wrong, his offspring would be flippin' adorable (but possibly have the worst reflexes of all time) however, spaying and neutering your pets is the responsible thing to do! If you don't believe me, watch some old reruns of The Price Is Right.

So, Wrigley had a Kip-less day today (best day of his life since July 14th) and we will all have a Kip-less night tonight. He will be returning home tomorrow...which means he will resume staying home and eating all the freakin' chips.

Pet Hair + Sawdust = The Story of Our Life.

Between pets and projects, there's never a dull moment at the Belby house! I sometimes think my husband was Bob Villa in a prior life, but in this life he is the hardest working DIY-er I know. It's not always fun during the project (showering in visqueen, coming home from a night out to discover the only toilet in the house has been removed, attempting to clean the walls of Durock dust that will probably be there until the end of time...just to name a few!), but the end result is always worth it. And we are now working toward the end result of our current major project: finishing our basement. And by "we", of course I mean "Ian." I am a handy helper when I can be, but mostly I stay out of the way and craft, or just provide him with some quality company and witty entertainment. What a lucky guy!

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are some progress pictures:

Studs.

That looks safe, right?

OSHA would be proud of those ear muffs.

Fireplace is in. Thank you to Chris Young for lending his muscles, apparently mine weren't big enough.

TV wall is ready.

I can't lie, I panicked a bit when I saw this. Okay, I lied, I panicked a lot.

It's times like these when I have to remind myself that I trust him!

It all worked out, and I got to put our initials in the new concrete. :)

Egress window is in, it's officialy a bedroom now.

 Kip giving the insulation a once-over.

 Wrigley's inspection was next. He was tougher than the City.

 No drywall? No problem! It's very important to get the 3D projector up and running.

 That rocky, muddy mess from above now looks like this. Way to go, Ian.

 Berta doing what she does second best, sniffing.

Berta doing what she does best, sleeping (amid the mess and chaos.)

So, there you have it! Drywalling is underway, get excited for the next installment of photo updates...complete with pet cameos, no doubt.

Now the above-mentioned project was planned, but that isn't always the case under our roof. Sometimes you come inside from the pool and discover you've put too much weight on your closet rack causing it to pull out of the wall and collapse. Oopsie. I practiced my "I'm so sorry" face (complete with my perfected-with-age pouty lip) in the mirror before breaking the news to Ian. After some cleaning, sorting and a trip to Menards, the closet is back in action. Ian is the best, and I promised I wouldn't let it happen a third time. (Yup, I've done this before. Oopsie daisy.)

<----Who knew my clothes were so heavy!? Ian, apparently. Yup again, he warned me. Like I said, never a dull moment!

Dogshaming

I came across an incredibly funny website of photos of dogs being shamed for their misbehavior. While Miss Berta is usually a little angel, she did manage to dig up some trouble...no pun intended. So, I had to dogshame her.

I'm sure Shelby forgave her. With that face, how could you not?

The incredibly funny website (and proof that Berta really is an angel by comparison): http://dogshaming.tumblr.com/

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

Unfortunately, this photo tells the wrong story! Despite what it may look like, I loved that kitten like it was my job. And the pouty lip was not so much a sign of sadness as it was the face I made in an attempt to get what I wanted. And I wanted that kitten. Sadly, I didn't get to take my furry friend home that day (a fact that surely led to the cat breathing a huge sigh of relief once it could breathe again.) I have since made up for that petless day by surrounding myself with four legs of love, well, twelve legs at current count. I no longer carry them by the throat, but I do love on them as much as possible and photograph them like it's my new job. Point, shoot, woof, meow, meow.