C&C Cage

For my 21st birthday, I received a Guinea Pig from my parents. It was something i always wanted and after years and years of begging, they finally gave in.

Meet Abby, my crazy haired female friend. She was the best Guinea pig I could have ever had. She slept when I did, I sang her to sleep, and she only made noise when she was hungry. The one thing I absolutely hated, two things actually, is 1.) she chewed through everything and 2.) when she went to the bathroom, she always managed to ruin the bottom pan of the cage. When I say she chewed through everything, I mean EVERYTHING: blankets, towels, cage liners, water bottles, you name it, and she chewed it. I could not get her to stop. As for #2, I remember buying about 2 cages a year for her because I was never able to completely scrub it clean..total of 8 cages!! Finally I had enough and did research. I decided on a C&C Cage except everywhere I looked they were insanely expensive. Here is where YouTube played a big part.

So after watching a couple videos, I started gathering my supplies: 2 different fleece patterns as her new bedding, coroplast, zip ties, and 2 boxes of Rubbermaid's wire storage shelving. Her new bedding is fleece which is healthier for them and easier to clean, you take it out, dump it outside, put a new one in, throw old one in the washer/dryer, and you're done! I do recommend training pads under the fleece because you need something to soak up the pee which is another plus about fleece: pee soaks right through and poop gets trapped on top. It is also better health wise because you're not breathing in all the fumes from the pee or pet dander while you're trying to dump the bedding out. I was also allergic to my guinea pig and let me tell you, once I switched to fleece, my allergies were more manageable. The coroplast we ordered online, it is just corrugated plastic.

Okay so once you take out the wire shelving, set it up the way you'd like. Some people prefer two stories, some prefer a 3'x4' set-up, whatever. Do it how you want to and use the zip ties to securely fasten loose ends. Our C&C Cage has a "lid" on top because we have 3 cats and we didn't want to come home one day to find Abby missing so creating a top was a necessity for us. As you can see, Shane's sitting on the floor and the cage is taller than him. That brings us to the final picture I have.

<-- Our final product of putting it together. We have the C&C Cage on top with our lid, 2 storage compartments under the left side of the cage to store pet supplies, under those: two bigger compartments to house our two litter boxes. It is an L-shaped cage so under the right side, we have a huge lounging area for the cats and they each have their own cubbies.



There is no tutorial for sizing and cutting the coroplast because before we got a chance to finish the cage, Abby suddenly passed away. So if you would like to finish building a cage, you will have to look it up on your own. I am trying to convince Shane to get another one, or two, and if that happens, I promise I will finish this tutorial. There is a lot more we want to do with it though like wrapping fabric around it so the cat, storage, and boxes are "hidden" from our visitors.



Shane just walked through the door so it's time to make dinner! Thank you to everyone who reads this. See you tomorrow!

Much Love,

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Okay so I totally forgot to write last night. Sorry. But I am here to tell you that starting every Tuesday, I will be linking up to another blog and writing about "The good, the bad, and the ugly". Without further ado, here starts my first series.

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The Good...

I have FINALLY got all my stuff out of my parent's apartment and moved it into mine. There are a ton of boxes shoved in a closet but at least they are not lounging around in the living room or dining room. There's actually space to walk now. We also took down our Christmas decorations and are in the process of storing them in our storage unit so we don't have to see them until next Christmas. And, to end this topic, a friend of ours got engaged over the weekend.

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The Bad...

My car, Lola, has a recall on it. Something about the lights not facing the right way at night? Gotta go get that looked at. Shane & I are also not saving money so that's a downer but it's something we're working on.

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The Ugly...

Last night was a terrible time for our town. Two High School students went out onto the Lake and supposedly fell through the ice. As of late last night, they were still missing. No one knows the real story. No one knows if they fell in. They are just simply missing. They had helicopters and boats and everything trying to find these boys and as of last night, the search was postponed until this a.m. There is still no sign of them. It's sad, it really is and it kills me to think that they didn't survive but at the same time, it hurts even more to think that it was some sick cruel joke. My dad was out there looking for them and so were many other people. Their families need prayers and I hope the boys are okay.

Crews search icy Budd Lake waters for 2 missing teens

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Much Love,

Coming Soon...

Hey everybody! We are into the first full week of January 2013. Hope everybody had a great and happy New Year's Eve.



A lot has been going on yet again since the last entry but I am in the process of creating a ton of new projects (i.e. creating a website all my own for Blogging). I'm also going to be involved in other bloggers' challenges and other good stuff so look for that as well!



Unfortunately, this is a short entry because I am stuck at work for another two hours and I promised three handsome little boys a game of Bingo. There WILL be another entry later tonight about a tutorial, or two. But, until then...

Much Love,

Life's Obstacles.

Oh my Goodness! It has been a while since my last post (about three months!). Don't worry, I have not fallen off the bandwagon yet for Blog writing. Just been a little pre-occupied with life.

IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!!

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In Regards To My Prior Post: Plethora of Projects...

• Organizing Master Closet: Mega Fail. Our bedroom is now worse and even more cluttered than usual.
• Home Management Binder: Super Fail. I have bits and pieces but have not actually sat down to organize and make one.
• Pampered Chef: Stopped having parties but I still sell it.
• Schoolwork: Extended my one class for 30 days; passed the other three with flying colors!
• Recipe Cards: Epic Fail. I am, however, working on my recipes but they have not made it to an organization type system..yet.
• Family Birthday Chart: COMPLETE!
• C&C Cage: COMPLETE! (For the most part.)
• Organizing Stuff: Working on it...

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WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

• Organizing Apartment
• Hanging things up
• Working
• Finishing Fall Semester
• Cooking
• Baking
• Gaming
• Shopping
• Coping
• Creating
• Writing

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Moving on.

It's been rough these past couple of months. My uncle was diagnosed with Cancer, underwent chemo, contracted MRSA, spent a lot of time in the ICU, and yo-yoed back and forth from good health to poor health. The rough part? He lived in Florida so I barely got to see him in the first place. My family and I went down for Thanksgiving to visit him and spend time with the rest of my dad's family. The day before we came home, my uncle passed away. It was hard on everybody. My dad went from being the oldest of three children to becoming an only child within 5 years. My poor grandparents now lost two of their children from Cancer.

The day before we left for vacation, my guinea pig passed away. Shane & I never fully completed the C&C cage because there is no use for it..right now.

The day we left for Florida, my mom's aunt passed away from Cancer as well.

These past three months have been filled with heartbreak and were especially hard for me to get anything done. There was no concentration, no motivation, nothing.


As time went on, Hurricane Sandy hit and devastated much of NJ. The Rockefeller Tree for NYC was chosen from my town. Shane participated in Red Bull's Flugtag. Christmas came and went. I fell behind in school because of everything that happened with my family. And now the year is almost over.


The last thing I want to include to this year is the Newport School shootings. My heart goes out to all those parents who lost their little angels that day.

Life should not be taken for granted.


Well, this started off as an okay entry and then slowly became depressing. There are no pictures or tutorials today. Just wanted to write to let everybody know that I am still here and kicking!

Tomorrow will be a better day! I promise.


Much Love,

Plethora of Projects

Hello all!

It's yet again been awhile since I've written but as many of you saw, I was pretty busy packing and moving. I did not work on the card decor yet because Shane will not allow me at 'em.

In other news, we moved. FINALLY! But it's totally worth it because we love spending time with each other. That's a plus!

Before I start telling describing to you what projects I've been up to, let me just tell you that I have A.D.D. I have a prescription for it but I try not to take it unless it overcomes my life because it's not cheap and it's definitely not free. Hence the title of this entry. I am currently working on about eight, yes EIGHT different "projects".

With that said, here's what I've been working on:

1. Organizing the master closet

Going through all my clothes and organizing them, getting rid of them, or saving them for when I start losing weight. Not sure how exactly I will be able to organize all this but it will be an everlasting project until I get it the way I truly want it.

2. Home Management Binder

As you can see through the bag, a sneak peek at my binder. I have all my papers, I bought dividers and folders, and of course the binder. All I have to do is organize the papers, make copies so I'm NOT using the originals, hole punch them, and get them into their correct sections.

3. Pampered Chef

I started selling Pampered Chef in July and so far I'm doing pretty well. I have two maybe three parties this month so planning and setting those up have been pretty time consuming. If any of my readers would like to order or would like to sell it, please email me and I'll give you more information.

4.Schoolwork

School started back up this past wednesday so I've been working on all that as well. I'm a full-time student taking 13, yes THIRTEEN credits (not classes). This is my second to last semester so it's definitely something to work towards.

5.Recipe Cards

I wanted recipe cards because I LOVE to cook. I was searching around the internet and found recipe cards that have personality and my very own personalization. These cards came from Katie Parris and her fabulous Etsy shop. You personalize them, she sends you a rough draft, you tell her what to change/keep, she emails you back 48 hours later with a PDF to print your own. Click here to visit her shop.

6.Family Birthday Chart

This is my favorite part of my "renovations" right now. I ordered this online but have yet to hang it up and finish it. I first saw it on Pinterest and wanted to make my own but when I priced all the supplies I would need, I figured it was easier to order it and that's what I did! You can find it here to snatch up your own.

7.C&C Cage

Yes, you read that correctly. I am builing a C&C Cage for my Guinea Pig, Abby. And of course, it will be a chore and I'm trying to re-train her to use a litter "box". And while I'm it, I'm trying a new approach with her that involves Fleece bedding instead of buying real bedding. I am allergic to her, Shane is too, but I read that this helps with allergies and is a hell of a lot easier to clean up.

8.Organizing Our Stuff

We're in the process of unpacking and organizing still so it's a mess as you can see. This is actually quite better than what it currently looks like. It looks like a hoarder lives here right now. Not pretty, I know.

We just recently found out we have a "storage unit" in the building next to us so we WILL be using it. First we gotta go through every box and find a "home" for it and then we will be putting it in that room. Then we'll go room by room deciding whether to keep it, store it, or trash it. This will be a very easy extensive but long project.

So that's what I've been working on. This post took me awhile to write not because of all the projects but because we're encountering a severe thunderstorm warning with a tornado warning. Everyone stay safe tonight!

Much Love,

Last Full Week of August

So the last full week of August started yesterday and I can't believe how fast the summer has went! It's always fun to take trips to the beach and of course, be out of school.

As the summer winds down, there's 10 days until the big move and I'm slowly packing up my things to move them. I'm a little bit of a procrastinator but in the end, it'll all get done and on time.

Speaking of moving, I can't wait to start posting more and more projects. I'll also share some organization tips found throughout the internet. With those projects, pictures of course!

Since Shane & I are only living in an apartment right now, we really can't do anything permanent considering we may only be there a year. I'm determined to make this apartment a home though.

Can't wait to actually decorate and make things we can take with us on our journey. And best of all, I can't wait to share all these projects with you and where I got them as well as how I made them my very own!

First things first, trying to find a way Shane can keep all the cards he has hanging. He has this weird obsession with saving every card he receives whether its a birthday card or holiday card, he saves it. So, I will allow him to keep his cards as weird as it is but I will find a way he can display them so they're not hanging over a poster anymore.

And believe me, those posters are not claiming space on our walls in our apartment LOL.

I will probably update this week if I find a solution. Otherwise, it won't be until we move in.

Much Love,

Countdown...

Hey Everybody! It's Friday!!!

Okay so clearly I haven't written on here in about a month but I DID notice my page views have skyrocketed a little bit.  Thank you for your love and continued support!

Moving on to the next topic, I haven't (yes, you read that correctly) been working on a project.  Instead, I've been packing.  For those that don't know, August 30th is the official "moving-out-of-my-parents-house-and-onto-my-own".  I couldn't be happier to be finally living with my best friend and the best person I've ever met for the past 2 1/2 years.  Starting a new chapter in our lives feels amazing .. actually there are no words to describe it.

Anywho, I was browsing Pinterest and redirecting myself to various blogs and I came across this one blog where she created a "Moving Packet".  I looked over it and decided I needed it so I printed it and put it aside...until recently.  I wanted to use the original but decided if we ever moved after this, that I could continue to use it.  Needless to say, I copied it and started using it.

This has become the most surreal thing I have ever done in my life...

This packet is a moving guideline as you will.  There's at least 7 pages of records and "labels" to use but I only use some of them considering that it's our first place.

Here's the first page of the packet.  It lists the "sections" originally used:

The next page I used was a checklist as to the time frame you have.  It's like a mini checklist to make sure everything gets done on time.  And, of course, in an orderly fashion.

As you can see nothing is checked.  2% 10% is checked off right now because I've been using it but yes, a lot more needs to be done.  I know.

The next page I used is one that is VERY important to me.  You pack a box, tape it closed, attach a label, and write on it.  As you can tell, there's a "room color" spot on there but I am not using it because honestly, I don't know where everything is going yet.

This page is my absolute favorite page of the packet!!  It reminds you what NOT to leave behind and it also tells you what you need for your "first night box".  So cute! This page makes me more and more excited to move every time I look at it.

These pages are pretty awesome too.  They're your labels for any boxes that are Fragile, which ones you wanna open first, and which ones you want to send to a storage facility.  Or, in our case, donate boxes because we like to give back

And there you have it! My first two boxes packed using these "labels".  Don't mind my wonderful mess in this picture.

To get your own "Moving Kit" for your upcoming move, or your next move, click here.  Bekah also has other FREE printables/downloadables to create an emergency kit or to even start your very own "Family Management Binder".


Happy reading and get printing!  Have a great wonderful weekend everybody!

    Much Love,