A person travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.

House hunting has been interesting.  As a potential first time buyer, it's really scary.  I've never even purchased a new car, and now I'm spending 6 figures on a dwelling.  The idea of spending 6 figures is daunting, but the idea of throwing away that kind of money on rent for the next thirty years is even more so.  Which is exactly what I would spend if my rent stayed the same for the next thirty years.  So, that makes me feel better.

We've looked at a few homes.  We put an offer on one yesterday, still waiting to see what is going to come of that offer.  I'd love to own this home, but, if we don't get it, we will find one that's even better.  A couple even popped up on the market today that I would love to look at if this one falls through.  I guess that's the key to shopping for a home, don't set yourself up for heartbreak, because you WILL get your heart broken.

I've already been prematurely planning the remodel of the house.  Which may also end up being in my favor if the offer isn't accepted...I'll be so overworked from planning, I'll be excited to not have to follow through.  Okay, now I'm just over thinking it.  I'm just way too impulsive for this waiting game.

Panda was selected to be a part of Dogtoberfest.  I have no idea what that is other than an adoption event on the 8th that is more extreme than the average adoption events, but it sounds like a ton of fun.
http://www.underdogrescuemn.com/dont-miss-dogtoberfest/

I love her to death, but, we haven't really gotten anywhere with the potty training and I am tired of cleaning up poop and pee all day long.  If Winston hadn't improved his potty training habits 100% since I first adopted him, I would think I sucked at potty training dogs.  Well, it's still entirely possible that is the case, as Winston is just a mommy pleaser, so maybe that's the only reason I tricked him into going outside for me.

At least I've gotten her socialized and at a better weight.  Right?

In other news, I'm addicted to stumbleupon.com.  If you aren't using it, trust me, you are missing out.  It is the best internet time killer EVER.  I have to resist the urge not to share everything I like on there, because I would post about 100 times a day.  I find pages that I never knew I wanted to find.  For instance:  http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2F1WFB/www.expatify.com/advice/10-best-places-to-live-for-escaping-world-conflict.html

One day, I may decide I'm tired of government shutdowns and say, fuck it, I'm moving to Bhutan, bitches!  I never would have picked Bhutan if it wasn't for stumbleupon.  I'll let you in on a tidbit of information about myself:  I SUCK at geography.  It's entirely possible I may never have even known Bhutan existed if it wasn't for stumbleupon.

By the way, I don't think I would actually ever move to Bhutan.  The reality is, I'd probably choose Canada.  Because, I actually know how to get there.  Well, I'd have to pick up a compass on the way.

I don't want someone shoving his views down my throat, unless they're covered in a crunchy candy shell.

M&Ms are one of my favorite candies of all time.  It's true, their advertisement slogan that M&Ms will "melt in your mouth, and not in your hand" is completely false, especially in the dog days of summer, or if you have a particularly sweaty pair of hands, but they are delicious.  Most importantly, they appeal to my compulsive and analytical side.

I have a theory about M&Ms, a multi part theory, actually.  The theory is that M&Ms taste better when you eat two at a time.  Not just any two at a time, though.  Ideally, you would eat two of the same color at the same time.  If your handful doesn't consist of two of the same color, then you must choose two colors that are most similar, or complimentary.  i.e. brown and red, yellow and orange, blue and green.  If you eat them this way, I am absolutely convinced you are eating them at their pinnacle of tastiness.  If you just shove a whole handful of mismatched colors in your mouth, they still taste good, but you are lacking the sophistication of matching the taste of the dyes to compliment one another.  Kind of like a wine pairing.

I've mentioned this theory to a few people.  The reactions have been varied.  Tyler thinks I am being ridiculous.  I think Tyler lacks the proper pallet to distinguish the subtle nuances of chocolatey goodness.  Especially because he doesn't like sweets.

Try it next time you find yourself with a bag of M&Ms and tell me what you think.

The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.

I am the most gullible person...ever.  Except when it comes to money and finances.  If we're talking about the completely outrageous, though, I will probably believe it, if you present it in a way that appeals to me. A tactic my loving fiancee uses quite frequently when trying to get a laugh.  So, I pretty much stopped believing anything he tells me about anything that seems even slightly outlandish.  This led me to not even accept the fact that narwhals actually existed when he told me about them.



Look at that thing.  It's a dolphin/walrus/unicorn.  How was I to know?  I still have my doubts.

Today, I was fooled again.  I found a website advertising tiny giraffes for sale from somewhere in Russia.  Finding this site was vaguely reminiscent of a time when I was convinced miniature pigs really existed (Royal dandies...there are plenty for sale, but they get a LOT bigger than advertised.  This is not exactly considered a hoax like the giraffe thing).  I somehow got Tyler to agree to getting one once we moved in together.  Then I found out they didn't actually stay that small.  In any case, because of my bitter past with miniature animals, I knew these giraffes couldn't possible stay small, but the live feed of a giraffe was what got me.  I was really excited to be able to watch a giraffe going about his day.  Until my friends assured me this was a spoof, and not a live feed.  I got so excited initially about watching the giraffe, I neglected to actually look around the site and see how ridiculous it actually was.



How embarrassing.

But, you know, if it was real, I would totally want one.  Or I'd at least check the feed at LEAST once a day.  I would also name the giraffe on the feed.  His name would be Mr Donaldson.  Mr Arthur Donaldson, if you knew him well.

Good taste is the worst vice ever invented.

It is allergy season.  I thought Winston was going to be the only victim, but then Tyler got hit, and shortly thereafter, so did I.  I always forget how slightly tortuous allergies can be, until they come back.  That nagging sort of congestion, and the lingering pain that comes with.  Ugh, yuck.  To all my fellow allergy sufferers, I feel your pain.  I know it's tempting to wish for winter to come to offer some sweet relief from the changing of the seasons, but, don't do it.  I don't need your bad snow juju, and with winter comes flus, stomach viruses, and killer colds, which are much worse, I swear.  Not to mention snow.  It's only been what, 4 or 5 months since winter in Minneapolis ended, and if I hear a single one of you Minnesotans wishing for it back, I just might kill you.

Yesterday was Labor Day.  I had no idea that thrift stores put their entire inventory 50% off on Labor Day.  An associate of mine clued me in on this, so after work (yes, I had to WORK on Labor Day.  The humanity, I know.)  Tyler and I went thrifting.  Let me tell you, thrift store shopping is a hell of a lot more fun when it's half off.  For some reason, the silliest things start to look more useful and/or interesting.  We really only got decor, but we got some really cool stuff!  My favorite find was the cast iron mechanical dog trick bank I found:



I looked around online, and these things can go for $2000!  I paid $6.  Of course, the one I got would never go for that amount, as it's not the right condition, and I'm pretty sure it's a reproduction, but it's just a damn cool thing to have, regardless.

I also found the Hamburglar glass I've been missing from my collection since my last antiquing excursion, and a Ronald McDonald/Fry guys glass I had never seen.  Okay, I am pretty excited about ALL of our finds, and I swear they weren't all kitchy.  I mean, we DID get a bunch of Jesus swag.

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

I should write something!

I've been so busy. When I suddenly find myself not so busy, sometimes I forget to write. But not this time!

I purchased a wedding dress two days ago. It's a beautiful vintage lace over silk champagne colored dress. Not sure of the year, as I think it is handmade, since I cannot find any tags on it. Tyler and I have guessed it has originated anywhere from the 30's-60's, but we really have no idea what era it came from. What I know is it is perfect. I had been searching for that exact fabric and color, but the dresses were all very high end and designer, and I was in no position to get one. Tyler urged me to check out a local vintage store, and because I had nothing better to do, we did just that. The dress was layered under a jacket of the same pattern displayed up high on the wall. There was no way I would have ever considered it, had the sales person not pulled it down for me. It fit like a glove. It was perfect. The night before I was hating everything about wedding planning, and I wanted nothing more to do with it, but once I tried that dress on, some of my stresses just melted away. It's pretty amazing how sometimes, your wedding planning just comes together so perfectly.

Tyler also purchased the blazer portion of his outfit. We also got some bleached peacock feathers for the wedding. Not exactly sure the purpose, but I knew I wanted them. Thus ends our journey of wedding planning so far. We've been mainly focusing on buying a a house. We plan to save money that we would have used on a large wedding and use it as a down payment on a house instead. We also plan to host the reception at our new house. So, we have a lot to do in not a whole lot of time. (We nixed the previous wedding venue I had blogged about, simply for cost reasons, when we added everything up, it just didn't make sense to spend a fortune on one night, when we could use that fortune and buy something we will be able to use forever)

However, we found a house much quicker than anticipated. We were pretty sure we were going to buy a house in a particular price range. We had talked about getting a loan with a credit union representative, but decided we needed more money saved for the down payment. However, a house popped up that we love in a much lower price range, so we're scrambling to get our eggs in a basket (i.e. money all in one place, letter of pre-approval, etc) quick so we can put in a bid once we tour the house on Sunday. Cross your fingers for us, this could be big.

We took Winston to the vet as well the other day. He has allergies. Have to manage those, but it's done pretty easily. Half a Benadryl, twice a day. I pop that stuff like candy, when the season is bad, so I always have it around. So, as long as they work, no big deal. I should have him feeling better in no time.

Haven't had an adoption event in a little while to take Panda to, as I was ill during the last one. I'm really nervous for the next event. We've grown really close to Panda over the past several months, and it would be so difficult to give her up. But, we're in no financial position this month, or even the next couple of months to do anything about it, so we'll just have to hope that whatever is best for her will happen. We did get her a pretty little pink harness and nametag, though. She deserved something of her own.