Life with Gibson // Year One

It’s hard to believe that Gibson has been a part of our lives for a whole year. We brought him home on a Saturday afternoon last January 19th. My parents gave us some money (as an early anniversary present) to be able to get Gibson after we’d went to meet him earlier in the week. I knew that I’d wanted a Mini Schnauzer for a long time…my parents have one named Tucker, and he was a huge part of my teenage years. He still loves it when I come to visit because he gets to sleep on the bed with me. I love that these dogs don’t shed and I enjoy their playful spirits and personalities.

And our Gibson has been no exception. He’s been such a joy to have in our lives and he’s been a constant source of joy for me. There were some hard parts in the beginning (the usual training a puppy part) but it has been so worth it. I just love this little guy.

I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of him from this last year. I might be a bit biased, but I think he’s just the cutest!

Here are some from the day we met him, when we brought him home and after his very first big-boy hair cut.

We bought Cesar’s “How to raise the perfect dog” book and I think we learned a lot from it. We got a good schedule down for walks and bedtime and spent a lot of time with our puppy. He loves riding in the car. We took him for a couple long Russian service days and he loves to go with me when I  get coffee or rent a movie. He rides either on my lap or with his head on my shoulder so he can see out the front window. Everyone knows him, says hi and gives him cookies.

Gibson also went through this stage where he would sit right on our shoulders. We called him our Parrot Dog. He’s too big now, but I still crack up when I think back on it. I love him when his hair is long and shaggy cuz he looks like more of a puppy…but after he’s groomed he looks like an old man. Still those soulful eyes though. I just love this pup.

And now at a year old Gibson is 15lbs. He recently had the dreaded surgery, but he did really good. He didn’t have to have the “cone of shame” and didn’t lick his stitches much at all. I was pretty proud of him. While he was there the vet also removed what was left of his baby teeth…which was surprisingly most of them. The vet said he’d never seen a puppy with two sets of back molars in at the same time. We used to call him the land shark because he had two sets of teeth.

My favorite thing is when I’m working in my office and he just comes to sit with me. And how happy he gets when I come home. He likes to tell me all about his day. He loves popcorn and tomatoes and any paper products he can get his hands on. He really enjoys having Chris’ parents and their dog Razy living with us. He has a constant play mate and someone always giving him attention. Chris’ mom made him that adorable winter coat. Gibson got his first full Schnauzer hair cut at the groomers in December. Now that the hair has grown out quite a bit I think it looks like he’s wearing a fuzzy sweater backwards. Time to go back I guess. He gets his hair done as much as I do.

I call him “Little One” and “Buppy” (short for baby puppy) and “Booger.” He’s become a really big part of my life and he brings me a lot of smiles and comfort and companionship. I think getting Gibson was one of the best choices we made. He’s been the perfect addition to our little family.

Happy Puppy Anniversary to us!!

Does your family have a pet?
What joys does your pet bring you?

To Thrive in 2014

For the fourth year in a row I’ve chosen a word to help guide and define my year. I think it’s a much more powerful way to approach a new year then to just make resolutions, because a word can become so many different things. It can bring things into your life that you might not expect, or dare you to do something new or guide you through a difficult time. It can become so much.

My word for 2014 chose me this time, late in the summer of last year. I saw a picture on Pinterest and I just stopped… there was an ache in my chest for this concept, even then. And now as I step into 2014 with more things happening to me than I’d expected, I need this word more than ever.

This is the picture I saw on Pinterest. And “thrive” is my One Little Word for 2014.

Definition: verb; 1. to prosper; be fortunate or successful 2. to grow or develop vigorously; flourish. (Ironically, my word from 2012 was Flourish…things always seem to connect.) 3. to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances.

Thesaurus: bloom, flourish, succeed, advance, radiate, bear fruit, make a go, arrive, burgeon, expand, shine, progress

I chose this word because: Lately it feels like life is spinning out of control…going faster and faster and I’m just barely hanging on; barely surviving. We have Chris’ parents living with us right now, and so, my sanctuary, my home, which should feel like a safe haven and a resting place feels like anything but. I feel like a guest in my own home. It feels like things keep happening to me…like I have no say. It’s a hard place to be, and a very negative head space to sit in. I don’t like it…and this isn’t me. So for right now, in this moment, my word “thrive” will help me to make conscious decisions to do just that…to go beyond surviving. I want to thrive in self, and thrive in truth (like my picture says) and thrive in health and thrive in trust and thrive in my relationships. I want my blog to thrive and my marriage to thrive and my work to thrive. I want to feel like myself again. That’s why I chose this word…or why it chose me, I guess.

With this word I invite: Strong, active decision making, contentment, health, control, success from my own standpoint and others’, activity, chances, changes, adventure and life.

Quotations:

“Build a foundation of faith now, and when the storms of life hit, you will not only survive – you will thrive.” –GanelLyn Condie

“You can’t thrive tentatively.” –Unknown

“Your greatest responsibility is to live a life that nourishes your highest truth.” ― Mollie Marti

I know that there are others in the blogging and OLW communities that have chosen “thrive” as their word for 2014 as well. Particularly, Ali Edwards who teaches the OLW class. But I don’t think having the same word as someone else is a bad thing. I think her perspectives can be inspiring to me throughout the year. It might help me think of my word in lots of different ways; ways that I might not have expected. But I know that my experience with my word this year will be my own…it will be personal and I’m hoping very motivational and curing.

I’m looking forward to thriving in 2014.

Did you pick a OLW for 2014?
I’d love to hear what it is and why you picked it.
Feel free to share in the comments below.

2013 in review

This year has been so full… full of puppy kisses and baby snuggles, lots of time at the theater, new cars and new Bibles, road trips and adventures, a new language and celebrated anniversaries, a weight loss journey and a couple new entries into my Hair Diaries. Thank you 2013 for the joys, the lessons, the struggles and the blessings. And welcome 2014…we’re so ready for you!

What are some of your highlights from 2013?
What are you most looking forward to next year?

Let’s Begin Sewing

It has been my pleasure to work with Rachel of Let’s Begin Sewing on a logo and blog design during the last few months. She was looking for something simple, streamlined, and classic but that still told the story of her blog. She wanted a place where people just starting out with sewing would feel at home and would be able to learn from her journey.

We started with the logo itself and I landed on the idea of using a spool of thread as the basic shape. This logo went through many a revision, mostly because I was thinking about it too much…imagine that! But once I focused on the simplicity of the concept we found something that I think works perfectly. I love the final logo design.

And then I took this concept, with its fonts and shapes and converted it into a full, but clean and simple blog design for Rachel. She chose a lovely green for her little pop accent color that I think works so good and allows the colors of her quilting and sewing projects to be the life of the blog. I’m so happy with how this all came together. See the site live here.

Thanks so much for picking me for your logo and blog design, Rachel. It was a pleasure to work with you. I hope you enjoy your blog design for a long time to come!

Lavender hair dreams

I have had a super short hair cut for a year in January, and I am just loving it. I kept thinking I was going to start growing it out now, but I like it so much I figured, why? Right?! But…being the Shaina we all know, I did need to change it up a bit. I don’t know where I saw lavender hair first, but I started pinning a bunch of fun images of girls with purple and lavender hair on my Beautiful Hair board.

So many fun ideas! That, plus my favorite girl, WhippyCake’s short cut and I had my idea set. Once again I went to my favorite stylist and cousin, Hannah. We have so much fun doing my hair together in her kitchen. We painted nails while the color processed, played with her baby Harper and watched the boys play video games. It was a perfect Saturday. Here are the results…my before and after pictures.

We started with really vibrant purple knowing it would fade to that really pretty lavender with time. I love how it turned out…the color and the shape. I think it’s a fun way to start the next year. I can’t believe its going to be 2014 already.

What are you planning on doing to jump-start your new year?
Planning a fun hair change like me? I’d love to hear about it!