Baptism of the Lord (Sunday Update)

A 9 inch snowfall was predicted.  We got about 4 inches, which is perfect.  A nice white snow to freshen things up...but maybe not quite so long to melt.

With the warm winter we've been having lately, our house has been invaded by "stink bugs".  They're totally harmless, but last night my kids caught one.  Someone reported that some others were trying to drown the bug.  My husband, without thinking it through, said "guys, just let it go outside".  My 16-year-old son had a wonderful time regaling his father about "saving" the stink bug by tossing it out into the blizzard outside!  Eowyn asked if she could "keep it for a pet."  A quick google search confirmed that they eat fruit and leaves, amongst other things.

Muffin is still the "dumb blonde" of the household.  Still working on house breaking...(sigh).  One tip, which no one but me would need to hear, is that when purchasing a dog, make sure you research it's grooming requirements.  Teddy bear's do not shed, but their hair continues to grow, apparently, indefinitely.

 Since I haven't taken her to the groomer in a month,  Muffin's hair goes straight over her eyes so she can't see.  With four girls in the house, I now am adding doing my dog's hair to my list of girls to groom!

 Cute though.

stress relief

 And on the home front...that backsplash I mentioned last month?  It is supposed to be installed on the 22nd.  But I changed my mind on the tile.  It's kindof a long story, but my old "backsplash" was just the formica countertop that was installed about 8 inches up from the counter (that's where the white torn up wall is in the pictures.  I thought I was only replacing about 8 inches with tile, but when Home Depot came to measure, they measured the full wall space between the counter and the cabinets. which is now normal.

Because I had thought I only had 8 inches to work with, I had to rule out any larger patterns which wouldn't have enough room to show the pattern and I chose the tile below:

 It reflected light and matched the countertop.  It wasn't not my "dream" tile.  I liked it, but I thought that with 20 inches instead of 8, it might get too "busy" for me.  I'm kindof a minimalist, and I want a "white" kitchen.

Yesterday my Mom ran over to Home Depot and agreed with the "other" tile I had seen, and loved, and wanted to change to.  So, we put in a new order and if the new tile comes in before the 22nd, we can still install before the end of the month!  Cross your fingers!

Happy Feast of the Baptism of the Lord!

Happy Sunday!