Red, a new sink, and bread

After Christmas I made this list, much to Tim's (quiet) dismay.  I think he's secretly more excited than his look showed.  I'm happy to say that this week we crossed off two things!  Not the two I would have started with but I'm SUPER happy!

My sister-in-law Amber got her kids a dog for Christmas.  I fell in love with the pooch when I saw him that night.  They named him Hoke, because their son wanted to name him Hulk but can't say the 'L".  Haha, so it's Hoke.  When the breeders posted Hoke's brother for sale, I couldn't really pass it up.  They wanted $1000 for him because of the breed of dog he is (and how much they've put into vet bills and food for him), so I offered $200.  They turned me down but reconsidered a few days later, after Amber's persuasive texts and the promise the brother dogs would be close friends.  

I LOVE HIM!  

I told Tim before we even picked him up that I just felt this dog was my dog and that I loved him more than maybe I loved our kids.  It's a close call.

I also told him I'd be crushed if the dog didn't love me more than anyone else in our family.  On the way home after picking him up, I told the girls and Taryn that he is my dog but that I would share.  The hour and a half ride home from Fairview mostly went like this:

If I hadn't of been in the front seat for part of the drive, and driving the rest of the way, it'd have been me hugging him.

He's a five-month old mix of a 100% lab mama and 100% poodle papa. So he doesn't shed, which is the only kind of dog I would have gotten.  I don't want dog hair all over, but I'm apparently okay with his drool after he slurps down his water.

 His name is Red; I wouldn't have picked it myself but we kept it from his previous owners.  He probably doesn't care what he's called but I feel like a five month old dog probably knows his name, so we kept it.  He's 50 pounds of the best-dog ever.  I hope he gets huge.

 He's a fast learner and almost house-trained after less than a week.  I've taught him to shake my hand and I LOVE that he only does it for me.  He doesn't bark and he loves to snuggle.  He follows me around the house, sits by me in the kitchen when I'm working on my laptop or cooking, and lays next to us when we're playing games or reading together.  He's the best dog and perfect for our family.

He doesn't seem to mind March snow, though the rest of us are about sick of it.

I bought him bandanas to wear and I'm sure he loves them.  This week I took him with me to the bank, to the grocery store (grocery pick-up, not in the store), to my office, and to visit his brother Hoke.  He's not quite sure yet how to get in the van, so I have to heave him in, which is sometimes a chore.

The other thing I (well, Tim) accomplished on my list was a new sink and faucet!  Fortunately (and unfortunately, I guess), our old faucet was leaking.  I thought it only seemed right that if we got a new faucet, we definitely should get a new sink. I LOVE IT!  It's gray quartz and several inches deeper and longer than our old one.  I love our faucet too.  I love that Tim knows how to do all this and doesn't mind; I'm super grateful he puts up with all the things I want to improve around here.  What a keeper!

While Tim put the sink in, I made sourdough bread.  It quite literally took the entire day. I'm practicing my scoring designs.  I'm not very good.  I imagine baking beautiful looking bread with intricate designs. Maybe one day!  Haha, at least these taste okay!