It takes two to make things go right...It takes two to make it outtta sight.

When MC Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock coined these ridiculously insightful lyrics back in 1988, in addition to partying, wanting to rock right now, and wanting to get down (even if you're not internationally known), I have a feeling they didn't realize how perfectly they also apply to DIY couples. Nearly 10 years ago Wendy and I decided to take on our renovation, and through each step, we have been there to help and support the each other. Though always aware of the assistance we offer in our partnership, I am never more reminded of how important my partner in crime is to progress on our house (and life in general) than when she's out of town for a little while.

Wendy's been out of town for work since last Friday morning and I've been manning the ship since then. As much as I miss her while she's gone, this isn't a new thing around these parts. Wendy's job periodically takes her out of town a few times a year for a couple of days each time, and at least once a year for one full week. Last year it occurred in mid August, which is when I had a series of blog entries that I called the "Week of Alex." These posts all centered around the mundane life I lead while Wendy is out of town and I'm basking in struggling through single life. Looking back on last year I realized that it was actually a pretty eventful week. A baseball game, vestibule progress, a major earthquake, and some new shoes, man, I was busy. 

I feel like this year is a little different than last. Beyond normal house chores and upkeep, my DIY to-do list seems like it's a mile long, I'm working endlessly on a major year long project for work that wraps up in the next week, and the Nationals are in first place and I feel obligated as a super fan to watch every night! Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining in the least bit about any of these things (especially because they primarily mean things are going really well), I'm just running down the list of everything I've got on my plate and wondering aloud how I might have time for it all. I'm also well aware this isn't half as much as many/most people have going on at any given time, and many never have the support of a partner in their endeavors, married or not.

When Wendy is home, life is so much easier. We make a great team and we each have our strengths that make the wheels go round. Cooking, cleaning, chores, errands, housework, we each have responsibilities and we each assist the other. If I need to work on the house more than usual, Wendy will often pick up a task or two so I can do what needs to be done without worry about the other stuff. Or if Wendy is working on a DIY project and I need to help out or take care of a few extra things, no problem. But when I'm home and am acting as a single parent to our four legged kids, I'm a one man show, and there's just about as much to do as when Wendy is around.

Well, there's no rest for the wicked, so Lulu, Mel, and I kicked off our solo Saturday with a little celebration. July 21 was Lulu's 3rd birthday, and I know Wendy was very sad she wouldn't be able to celebrate with us, but it just meant I had to do the celebrating for the both of us. 

I kicked off the day with a nice rendition of "Happy Birthday" and then I took advantage of the cool weather and break in rain to go for a short little run with my wrinkle faced friend. After our run, Lulu had some of here favorite things for breakfast...lettuce and blueberries (along with her normal food). She has some weird tastes for a dog, but I really like that about her.

My plan was to spend much of the day outside with Lulu, taking her to the park and some of the places she always has a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it rained ALL DAY on Saturday, so our little girl didn't want to go outside once it started (she's a wuss like that). So instead, she sulked by the back door, but refused to leave when I would open the door. At least we played for a while around the house.

We waited out the rain, I did a little work on the house, and a whole lot of work on stuff for work, and then we went on a five mile walk. Lulu was in heaven!

We covered all of her favorite places around town, went to a few new spots, and even stopped so she could say hello to some ducks.

Though we had a lot of fun, I wanted to do something that was a bit of a birthday treat. In spite of the fact she's now officially "21," I felt a beer or some drinks was probably a little out of line. Instead I wanted to pick up some doggie ice cream for Lulu, but the store that carries it was already closed by the time the rain stopped. Lucky for Lulu, a birthday celebration in this house just isn't a true birthday until the celebration stretches into multiple days (Wendy actually get's the whole month of May), and Sunday was a beautiful day for some ice cream from The Dog Park on King St.

I picked up a small container of peanut butter & banana flavored doggie "ice cream." It's actually yogurt, and I know what a fan Lulu is of peanut butter, so I felt this would absolutely be a winner.

Was I right? Absolutely. I couldn't pull her away from the treat.

I'd say this "ice cream" is an absolute winner, and is something we'll surely be getting anytime we want to give our little shar-pei pug a treat. She ended up with the container stuck to her nose for a good little while just to be sure she got each and ever last bit of deliciousness licked out of the bottom of the container.

Yep, she liked it.

So I'd say Lulu's 3rd birthday was a great success, but between all of the walking, laundry, chores, dishes, and my work, I really didn't get all that much time to do work on the house, so my list didn't really shrink at all.

I had such plans to be productive, and envisioned the astounding number of items I could check off, but each one requires a fair amount of prep work, then some level of execution, and I fear I just don't have the time while trying to take care of everything else. One thing I'm absolutely sure of, if I were truly single I don't think I'd have the time or energy to do nearly as much DIY as I currently do. It's just another reason why I love being married to Wendy. 

Oh, one other...ahem, incident...from this weekend came courtesy of Mel. Does he look like he's misbehaving? I'd say he does. This is just after he was caught red handed pawed.

Perhaps he was a little upset by all of the extra attention Lulu was getting this weekend, or maybe he was just trying to pour himself a 6:00 am margarita, but early Sunday morning I was rudely awaken by the sound of breaking shattering glass. I immediately knew Mel had probably gotten into something, so I ventured downstairs to the kitchen to see what happened. 

One of the blue rimmed margarita glasses in the open front cabinet above our microwave had mysteriously jumped from its perch, slammed into the stove, chipped the enamel on the stove top, and broke into hundreds of pieces that spread as far as 10 feet from the stove.

I don't know what he was doing up on top of the cabinets, or why he was trying to climb into the open front cabinet (or how this was even happening), but now we're down one margarita glass.

Though it didn't involve any earthquakes, it was still a very busy and rather eventful weekend. In my case it may not "take two" to keep things running, but, like the lyrics say, it does take two to make things go right. One thing is for absolute sure, it's going to be a very busy week. I'm already looking forward to Wendy coming home on Friday, but until then, I hope you'll join me for the remainder of "Week of Alex II." We'll have a few interesting things for you, a week free of earthquakes (hopefully), and I'll do my best to limit my horrendous grammatical and spelling mistakes...but I can't promise anything on that last one with my editor-at-large out of pocket.

What did you do over the weekend? Anything fun? Were you a man or woman down from your normal rotation and trying to stay on top of it all, or was it just crazy even though all hands were on deck? At any rate, I hope your weekend was fun and productive.