This is so funny!

You have to click on this link and watch this video- it will make you laugh! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ13Wcx4wjQ
And I thought my dogs were naughty...

p.s. can anyone tell me how to add a youtube video to my blog?

I've been visited by the blog fairy!

I want to say THANK YOU to my sister Emily who made my adorable new blog makeover! Any of you who check my blog regularly, or snoop on here, should contact "The Blog Fairy" and update your look too!

I'll take a minute to catch you all up on the Rossettos: I started a new teaching assignment as a long term sub (4-5 months) for middle school art. It has been 2 weeks and I have to say that despite the fact that 12-14 year olds are particularly squirrely, I really like it. I have been working so hard trying to learn the school, grading, rules, mastering the copy machine, middle school politics and drama, as well as teaching little gnats how to paint! It amazes me still that I can say something everyday, write it on the board, pass out reminders- yet still- half the class acts like they have no idea what I am talking about at the end of the week. Sigh... Besides that, me and Chris have been enjoying our new calling as the CTR 5 teachers in our ward. Our kids are sooooo cute and good . And we really enjoy working on our lessons together. It makes me feel very lucky to have such a sweet guy and I can't wait to see him as a dad someday! Jackson and Brother are doing great- they are having a good time with Uncle Newton (mom and dad's dog) this week while my parents are in Utah. So that is pretty much it- Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photo Tag

I am playing along with Em's photo tag via Mom's blog (note to Em- I can't look at your blog lately because its making my browser shut down) I was told to post the 4th photo in my 6th folder. I don't know how organized all you guys are, but all my photos are in 1 folder labeled "photos library". I guess I should get on that. Anyway this is the 4th pic in that folder-


-Sarah and I will not be pursuing a career in pro-snowboarding anytime soon...many bruises that day!

House Pics Finally!

I know it took forever and the anticipation momentum has sort of fizzled down...but here are pics of our house! Please note the newly painted walls, front door and french doors: Also, we bought new fixtures and hardware for the bathrooms, put new handles on all the doors, got some new furniture and decor, and planted more plants and flowers in the back. I didn't include pics of everything (like the master bed/bath) just the rooms that I did the most work in. We love living here and are just so happy to have been able to make this our first home!

I feel smarter already...

So... I was bored yesterday (after having wrapped up all my weekend home-improvements, not having to sub because of Labor Day, and not wanting to go out and spend money) and decided it had been far too long since I changed my hair color! I did it myself- and after 2 attempts and some help from my handy assistant Chris- I think it looks pretty good! I actually look like I belong in the Reed family now. I'll include a "before" pic of my blonde self in case you haven't seen me in a while and forgot what I looked like!

p.s. That is Chris' bum in the picture if you were wondering.

Our First Big Night

I know we have actually spent 3 nights here already, but tonight is our first actual night where Chris and I are together (not unpacking or working) in our new home. We are just loving it, especially the boys who have worn themselves out completely! In true Reed fashion, I have finished the entire inside of the house except for the doors which I will paint this weekend. Everything is painted, cleaned, put up, installed, decorated, unpacked (pictures will come soon). However, the garage is the another story...

Before I tell you all about our fabulous plans for tonight I have to give a shout out to a person who went above and beyond the call of duty- MOM! There is no way I could have done this all without her; she advised, cleaned, painted the kitchen and bathroom, helped decorate and hang pictures, and even sewed beautiful panels for the front and back doors (pics are coming, I swear). This experience just reminded me of how awesome and talented she is and how blessed I am to have come from such determined and amazing people. Thank you so much mom! Also- I have to definitely thank Carl, Dad and Chris' family too for all their help in moving furniture, putting up new blinds and fans, painting, etc.

So, tonight I am making a lovely dinner of salmon, rice, asparagas and zuccini. I added tomatos and chives from our garden and the zuccini was from the garden too. Yum! We rented the Money Pit starring Tom Hanks (one of Chris' all time favorite movies) as it seemed fitting for the occasion-for those of you in the dark, the movie is about a couple who buy their dream home only to find out soon that it is falling apart (a lot of funny slapstick stuff). It will be a lovely first night celebrating this big step in our lives!

(we can only take pics with computer built-in camera)

The Week in Review

I feel, much like my mom said in her blog, that I really have not had anything exciting to blog about. But...I am bored so I thought I would just update everyone on the significant, and insignificant, events in our lives lately.

1. We are moving sometime next week into our new house-YAY!

2. I seriously am obsessed with HGTV. And I have spent the last few nights literally tossing and turning because I can not decide where to arrange furniture in our new house, what paint colors to use, whether to do crown molding or a chair rail in the office (or both), etc. My mind will not stop dwelling on these things; and watching hour upon hour of Design on a Dime, Divine Design, Rate My Space and Deserving Design is not helping much!

3. Chris and I are really into Diet Barq's root beer right now.

4. I have been hired to design a young woman's tattoo. I've never done this before, but it sounds interesting and they're paying me good, so hey! I will give further details and post pics in the days to come.

5. Jackson and Brother are really excited to get their own yard soon! They talk about it all the time.

Say Goodbye to Taco

Taco's owner just called Terri (she had signs up for a week!) and said that the dog was theirs. His real name is Bear, but to me he will always be Taco Maurice. So we will be parting today:(

And Taco Makes Three...

Meet Taco! He is a chaweenie (half dauchsund/half chihuaha) puppy. Terri (Forsyth) and Joe found him and wondered if we would be interested, or could help find him a home. My manager at work was kind of wanting a new dog but she is leaving for vacation today for 6 days. So...being the dog freak that I am I offered to keep him until she got back and decided whether or not they wanted him afterall. I have a feeling it may be too late in 6 days because he is quite cute, Brother and Jackson really like him and he had Chris at hello. Is it a bad sign that I already gave him a middle name? Taco Maurice Rossetto- if your wondering. Are we crazy for adding a third puppy 2 weeks before we move?

The Big Reveal!

I finished redoing my yard sale finds (with Emily's guidance) and I'm very pleased with the outcome! I used the same gold and rust colors to redo some other furniture we had and it looks really good- just don't have pics of those. The gold hutch will be a spice/oil rack in the kitchen. I painted a rolling breakfast cart we already had to match-very cute! The tall rust colored cabinet will be used for clothes in our bedroom- I had a little mini cabinet in the bedroom for jewelry/vanity stuff and I painted it the same color. The mirror will be hung in the dining area (it matches our dining set and buffet).

BEFORE and AFTER

P.S. EMILY WHITE- my computer crashes again evertime I try to look at your blog. I don't know what kind of fancy changes you have made but our computer doesn't like them!

Let's Try This Again!

This is our new house! We just had our offer accepted and we are signing into a 30-day escrow tomorrow (this time it is a nice couple being transferred to Texas for work-not a forclosure or short sell, so no issues hopefully!). The house is in Campus Park neighborhood and all the neighbors, and their houses, look very nice (I have driven through and snooped a lot). It is a very cute, 3 bed 2 bath with a lot of charm. The front has a closed in courtyard covered in jasmine. The backyard is amazing, like 4000 sq feet with a patio and a yard full of fruit trees, gardens, walkways, huge oak and pine trees and a fish pond. We are very excited and I will put more pics up when we start moving in!

BUMMER!!!!

So I just got a call from our Realtor and the seller of the house we were trying to get has come up with some money and is going to stay in their home. It doesn't seem fair that they can just change their mind after accepting our offer and taking the deposit, but they can and we will be reimbursed. We are really dissappointed because it just felt so right and we were so excited, but oh well. I am honestly a little happy for the lady who lives there (she is going through a divorce and has two young boys-we found out) and I imagine she is really happy to not have to be forced out of her home. It still sucks pretty bad for us, though! Our Realtor felt so awful and is anxious to get us back out and show some new listings so I'll keep everyone posted.

www.rossetto-art.com

I have updated my art website and it is finished for the time being. I intended for the site to serve as an easy way to advertise my work and store my portfolio. The main purpose of it, of course, is to solicit more work. So...please check it out and give me feedback: Is it slow to load? Are the images clear? Is it easy to navigate? Do the Header and Style/Colors work? Should I even include the "Figurative/Realistic" or "Graphic Design" galleries (these are more personal/silly stuff)?

With summer coming soon, I am hoping to suppliment my income with a lot of art commissions (as I won't be substitute teaching). My business relies mainly on word of mouth (mostly because I am too lazy and shy to really invest in any advertising tactics) so if any of you out there have friends or colleages looking for custom artwork, please refer them to me! Thanks!!!

Others' Trash is Now My Treasure!

Mom and I went yard selling this morning and I think I really hit the jackpot. I have been excitedly looking for furniture and decorative things for our future home (still waiting to hear from the bank negotiater handling the seller's short-sale process). My aesthetic is sort of "old world", Mediterranean-Tuscan, rustic (reds, yellows, olive greens, black). We found a lot of nice pieces ; I want to paint them to go along with my existing style and color pallete. I am hoping my sister Emily's offer to work her painting/decorating magic when she visits is still on the table; wink wink Em- hope these pics get your juices flowin!

This will probably go in the dining area. I would probably paint it a bronze/dark brown or a deep red/orange. Our dining set is distressed black, but I don't want everything too matchy. The tag for the original price of the cabinet is in the pic above...I got it for $40!

$5 for this cute display cabinet. I have no idea where I will put this (it's fairly big). If there is room I thought it would look so cute in the kitchen holding spices, cookbooks, etc. I want to paint it a rusty red or yellow.

I got this big, heavy dresser mirror for $35 and want to paint it distressed black to match my buffet and dining set we already own. I though it would look good (like they went together) on top of the buffet.

I got these gorgeous candle holders, the basket with leather straps, as well as some books, picture frames, a small clock, and a really cute wall hanging rack (like for hats or towels or anything) for $25 all together.

So my total was about $100 and I am very excited to work on these and make them my own treasures!

We Are Almost Homeowners!!!

We have put in an offer for our dream house (pictured above) and the owner approved the offer. This is a "short sale" which means that the seller's lending bank has final approval on the offer (as they are absorbing a loss in the loan-basically a forclosure), so it may be a while until we seal the deal. But for now we are in escrow. The house is amazing, with lots of tile, space and style. The backyard is fully landscaped and has a covered patio with vines and gardens, and it is just down the street from Mom and Dad on Renfro. We are so excited and hope you all will hope and pray that this pans out for us.

Better Pictures of Painting!

Crock Pottin'

So yesterday I used my crock pot for the first time!!! We are trying to save extra money for a house soon and have been pinchin' pennies anywhere possible. Mom suggested I use the crock pot more often because it will allow us to eat home more, even with our very different and hectic schedules. I made herbed chicken and potatoes in a cream sauce; sort of turned into a stew. I had to half the recipe, but being blonde I forgot to half the cooking time as well; so it was a little mushy. But it was still quite tasty and we have leftovers for lunch today. I am excited to try another attempt tomorrow and I think I will do pulled pork. But I am hoping that you all will submit any good recipes you have in your back pocket. We need easy, tasty and cheap! THANKS!

P.S. I also spent the last 2 days painting the cutest bathroom in a "Curious George Bubbles" motif-soooo cute-and this weekend am doing a little boys room in a "Vintage Baseball" theme. I will post pics as soon as I can borrow a camera.

Christopher Picasso

I thought you all out there should know that not only is Chris kind, a very talented musician, good at Wii Bowling, and an awesome train conductor... he is also a very creative artist. Many of you would probably be surprised to know that he has been a closet painter since I have known him. It is just so funny because every once in a while when the mood strikes, without any word or planning, he will just whip out some paints and make a painting in like 30 minutes. (He earned his own painting supplies for Valentines Day because during his last creative episode my brushes were "somehow" destroyed-see my previous post:)) His work is in the contemporary abstract style, and he often uses uncommon material and tools. This painting he did yeserday was made with a knife and a medicine dropper, and is oil on canvas. I thought I would show off for him because I think it's pretty cool. I just love my quirky guy. To quote "Shrek", he is an onion; so many layers.

The Rossettos are Sort of Boring

I haven't blogged lately because I don't really feel we have a lot of noteworthy news. Plus we have been busy the last couple of weeks working, visiting the hospital, house hunting and spending time with Mom and Dad, Sarah, Ashton and Alvie. I would post pictures of Jackson and Brothers' newest tricks and developments, but I don't think anyone cares quite as much as we do about our "kids". But I love reading about all of our nieces and nephews and other family on the different blogs! We are so glad that Abby is doing better, and that Jake has some new hope for treating his scoriasis (sp?). As I read all your blogs I am in awe of how faithful, talented, motivated and inspirational you all are. I miss you all so much! But it has been so fun being able to visit with Ashton and Alva lately- and not to brag, but I am pretty sure I am Alvie's favorite new person! He is the cutest little guy and is soooo good that it almost convinces Chris and I that we could manage a baby right now. I will sign off with one funny anecdote:

DO NOT EVER PLAN A BAKING GIRLS ACTIVITY DAY!

Yesterday I had 14 girls, ages 8-11, in my tiny apartment making cookie mix jars and baking cookies as a service project for our neighbors. This was one of those Activity Day ideas that I got off an LDS member's site. I thought it sounded so cute and fun. Well, the person who suggested it is either superwoman or she lied because it did not go as easily as described! I feel so bad for whoever gets those mix-jars and tries to bake "cookies" with whatever is inside-the girls were being supervised, but somehow each jar looked COMPLETELY different! It was a lot of fun for the girls and they loved eating the flat, crumbly cookies they baked themselves. I, on the other hand, was left sweaty and disheveled, with a GIGANTIC mess to clean up. If we had a digital camera I would have taken a picture to back this up. So, for any of you Activity Day Leaders- take it from me and skip this one!

Update

I went to a few places today and finally found a good replacement for the keyboard. It was not quite as pricey as I thought and it sort of matches our nice Mac computer. I guess Chris is off the hook. Now we can look for a new digital camera to replace the one he lost in Mexico... :)

Husbands and Housekeeping

So...I know that my many Blog fans (all 4 of you) have been waiting eagerly for the fabulous "Pit Bull" story. However, I have not been able to actually use my computer lately- I am currently typing from Mom and Dad Reed's house- thanks to Chris. I will share the story of the computer's demise as my first blog!
A little background info:
Those of you who know Chris and I may already know that we have sort of opposite personality dynamics. I am what some might call "high strung", "dramatic", "slightly OCD", "controlling" and other cute traits. Chris on the other hand is the most mellow, even-keeled, laid back, sweet tempered person I have ever known. Usually this works out really well for us because I light a little fire under his butt when he needs it and he cools me down when I need to chill. But when it comes to our housekeeping habits, these differences cause some irritation. Chris breezes through the house without a care: opening drawers and cupboards and not closing them, leaving plates and crumbs everywhere, leaving shaved hairs all over the sink, breaking stuff accidentally etc. When I ask him about his constant messes he genuinely seems surprised- like he had no idea that they were really bad. He seems happily oblivious to a dirty house. Typically, being the neat freak that I am, I can't ignore the messes and just add the extra cleaning into my day. And Chris does often thank me for my unsolicited cleaning effort.

So yesterday morning I got up early, excited to play with my new blog! I headed into the kitchen first to grab a snack. I feel something sticky on the counter...ahhh, Chris made his favorite-pancakes-before he went to work at 5 am. The usual remnants of syrup, mix, dishes crumbs...(I feel like a detective at times because I can always trace every step and event in Chris' day by the little "trails" he leaves behind) He actually put the griddle away (dirty) which he later proudly pointed out to me. I grab my snack and head to the office. I sit down ready to go but the keyboard is not working. I checked the plug...not that. I restart the computer...no good. A virus maybe? THEN I SEE IT! A half glass of OJ with a suspicious trail of sticky leading to the keyboard. I pick up the keyboard and tip it over... orange juice drips out. I spent the next 30 minutes chewing Chris out (in my mind) while I took apart the keyboard and tried to clean out the sticky OJ that was underneath the keys. The damage was done, though, and so I will be blogging from my parents' computer until we buy a new one. I did confront my hubby about it later that day and his response was: "Yeah...(with a laugh) I accidentally spilled it, but I thought it would just dry. It's always been fine when I've spilled on it before." WHAT?! So the new rule in the Rossetto household is no liquids in the office. Maybe some of you bloggers out there who have put in more time being married can shed some insight into my situation: is Chris a lost cause or are there ways to rehabilitate a "tidy-impaired" spouse?

P.S. I don't want to seem like I am throwing Chris under the bus. Despite being destructively messy, he is the hardest working and sweetest guy I could ever ask for!

She Did It!

After much nagging and prodding all it took for Clare to start a blog was to have us (Emily and Mom) do it for her. So here it is. I hope you like it, Clare. We will all be waiting with baited breath to see what you have to say. In case you need a little help, here are some potential blog topics to get you started:

The Great Pit Bull Adventure

Substitute Teaching Horror Stories

Life on the Gritty Railroad (that one's for you, Chris)

What You Don't Want to Know About Restaurants

Anyone visiting Clare's new blog can feel free to vote for their favorite blog topic. Don't let us down, Clare.

Lovingly,

Emily and Mom