On Saturday we attended the 2nd Annual Dog Olympics, an event put on by Paws & Think (the wonderful organization I first mentioned here). Despite the hot and humid day, dogs enjoyed participating in such events as the Tennis Ball Race and Bobbing for Hot Dogs.

Skyler is pretty timid at high-energy events like these, with dogs running around off leash, but she behaved pretty well overall, and was perfectly content cheering on her furry friends from the sidelines. She also was happy that Three Dog Bakery was one of the vendors, and we got her a new bag of her favorite treats.

August 8th was my last day at Pulse Creative Partners. After two and a half great years, I have decided to step out on my own as a sole proprietor and launch my own web design and development business — specializing in web sites, e-newsletters and professional blogs.

I am currently taking new clients, so contact me if you are interested in working together. Otherwise, stay tuned for changes to this web site and other news on the business front.

Another day, another site launched. A Recipe for Wellness is a holistic health and nutrition company owned by the lovely Maya Bradstreet. The informational site lists not only her services, but also features a calendar of events and a blog. So check out the site (and don’t be surprised if the logo looks familiar).

As I mentioned earlier this week, I have been wrapping up and launching a lot of sites at work. The most recent one, The Coffeehouse Investor, was just launched yesterday. This site is based on a book by Bill Schultheis and his recommended steps and strategies for successful investing. I developed the site with WordPress integrated so that the page content, blog and “buzz” links can all be easily updated by the client. Stop on by the Coffeehouse and check it out.

I’ve been launching sites left and right at work lately, and some them are certainly worth mentioning even though they haven’t been added to my portfolio. Megan W Blog was designed and developed for a very talented local photographer. It is powered by WordPress with a spiffy navigation plugin from PixoPoint. Two other sites that I also wrapped up are the simple yet effective web sites for Curd Brothers and CoLucid Pharmaceuticals.

When I took Skyler to the vet last weekend for a routine nail trim (because $12 is SO worth it considering it takes Andy and I at least an hour to do it) I was surprised to see that she had lost a few pounds. At 28 pounds, Skyler is always teetering on the line between a healthy weight and being a bit chubby so this was good news. Our vet said that typically dogs lose weight in the winter, especially if they love being outside because they burn calories staying warm. Based on how much Skyler loves the snow (seen here and here) you would think the pounds would just melt off in the winter months, but for her, not so much.

I am certain that Skyler’s weight loss is a direct result of what I like to call “The Chipmunk Diet.” No, no, I would never let Skyler eat these furry little nuisances that kill our rose bushes and are wreaking havoc on our brick patio, but chasing them is certainly one of her favorite summer time activities. She will flush them out of the iris (shown in the photo above) and then scurry after them. But the end of the chase is always the same. They scamper into one of our downspouts at which point she barks at the downspout (and I question her intelligence) or she will patiently lay there, WAITING (until she is called to come inside).

I am starting to get used to not having to open a cabinet door to get a glass, or open a drawer to grab a spoon (which are conveniently located on the countertop). We are making some serious progress on our kitchen renovation project (see photos here), but there is still work to be done.

The drawers still need a top coat (they have been primed twice) and have the hardware added. Additionally, now that all the cabinets are white, it has become obvious that the trim around the kitchen needs to be painted white as well (it’s currently the same dark brown that the cabinets were.) Once we do that, then the only room in the house with brown trim will be the utility/laundry room, so that trim (and window) will need a coat of white as well.

I’ve always been pleased with my hosting provider for this site, but over at Green-Lemonade.com, Liz and I thought it was time to make a greener decision in regards to who hosts our site.

AISO.Net is “the first and only 100% completely solar powered hosting company that does not use energy credits.” Their Network is pretty impressive, however watching the live Web Cam of their solar panels is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

Note: I took a photo of the solar panels shown here on our recent trip to Vegas.

Amidst all of our other home renovations, Andy and I decided it was time to do a fairly major renovation of our kitchen. (Curses to HGTV for always reminding us that an updated kitchen will increase the value of your home more than any room in the house.) It would be an understatement to say that we have neglected the kitchen. Since moving in, we have torn off the floral wallpaper (no easy task) and given the walls a fresh coat of light green paint. We replaced the overhead light above the galley and above the table. We bought new appliances and new sink fixtures. And we bought a new sliding glass door.

But that hideous brass (?) hardware on our cabinets continued to remind us that this kitchen was built before we were born. We thought all those hinges, handles and pulls would be easy to replace, but apparently in 1974 cabinet carpenters used uniquely sized hardware that is no longer made as a standard size. Upon doing some research, we learned that to get custom made hardware (including hinges) for a good amount of cabinets is NOT CHEAP. So after some calculating and multiple trips to home improvement stores, we decided to paint our dark brown wooden cabinets white, add new hardware, install a new counter-tops and get a new sink.

Because we are doing all the work ourselves (with a weekend visit from my helpful and hardworking parents) the last week and a half for me has consisted of the daily routine of: Eat. Work. Gym. Eat. Paint. Sleep. Repeat.

I’ve updated the portfolio section of this web site. Take a peak at the new Grace Assembly web site, a logo for A Recipe for Wellness, a custom-designed baby shower invitation, and a web site for a Vegas-inspired restaurant.