Last night I realized that we have several items that we've either asked for your opinion on a topic and haven't shared our final verdict, or given you periodic updates on a topic and then kind of petered out without a more recent status. You may have been able to tell from our less frequent updates, but Wendy and I have been busy with a capital Bee.

Don't worry, this isn't a "woe are we, having no time to do anything because we're just so busy, how do we simply make it through the day, please tell us how great we're doing and it's going to be okay." I hate blog posts like that, and I bet you do too. In fact, that's probably why we're Internet friends.

In reality, we're super busy because work has been crazy for me with lots of change, new responsibilities, and cool things like mobile app development (that I don't want to bore you with). And Wendy's job has been gangbusters, with new listings, representing buyers, and what seems like a constant stream of home inspections and settlements. And we're not even to the busy time of the Alexandria real estate year. And of course there's been the little "situation" with Lulu's cancer recurrence, and even Mel's had his share of unplanned vet visits.

In all this means that we're so swamped that we really haven't had much time to put into our house work or writing as many blog posts. Hope you haven't missed us too much.

But I digress...time for some closure on a few items.

Alarm Panel Location

First of all, thank you to everyone for chiming in on the bedroom wall vs bathroom closet alarm panel debate. Let me start by revealing who in our household prefers it where.

Most everyone felt that Wendy wanted to hide the panel away in the closet while I preferred to put our new technology on display. Well, prepare to have your minds blown!

I actually want to hide it in the closet, keeping the walls uncluttered and not showcasing something that will likely look dated in a few years. While Wendy wants it to be more front and center, accessible in the time of emergency and for peace of mind.

That being said, it looks like the bedroom wall votes have it. The light shouldn't be an issue as it dims after a few minutes, and the noise we'll just have to get used to. It will be lately hidden behind the bedroom door, but clearly visible from the bed, so it seems to be the best place for it. However, I'm neither happy with the idea of putting a hole in my beautifully smooth wall, nor thrilled with the need to crawl around in the attic to run the wire. That'll be an ordeal. Perhaps I can wait until it's one of the hottest days of the year to do that project and lose another 11 pounds of pure-misery sweat?

Vanity Neutering Opinion

The other thing we had asked your opinion on was our vanity balls debate. Who doesn't like a good vanity balls debate. More specifically, if they should stay or go.

In this case, the ball preferrers have it. It's such a major decorative aspect of the buffet that I feet removing them will drastically alter the overall look, even of I can do it without marring the wood too much. I also think this is a situation where it will look much different and distinctive once we paint the whole piece. So the buffet is not getting neutered, the balls are staying.

Warrior Princess Lulu

And finally, my most favorite item that we've needed to update you on, our little half shar pei, half pug, and all black bundle of wrinkly goodness, Lulu!

Yes, it's true, she's definitely one of my two favorite ladies in the world. It literally broke my heart that she's had to go through cancer treatment over the last few months, but she's absolutely on the mend.

We last gave you an update when she was in the midst of her radiation treatment. We had prepared ourselves for a massive radiation burn, but as of our last update it hadn't shown up. Lulu's treatment staff kept warning us that it would eventually come out, but we kept silent hopes in the back of our mind that maybe, just maybe, our dog was somehow a super dog and wouldn't get burned by the radiation. However, about three days after her last radiation treatment I looked down to inspect her arm and notices a little spot.

WHOMP WHOMP. Though it looks like nothing, our super dog (and she is super, I'm still convinced) had lost a little spot of fur and a tiny little burn area was visible. I was worried she had chewed/licked it raw, but our vet assured us that this was the start of the burn and it would likely get much worse.

As the days went on the burn continued to grow. What started as a tiny pink spot grew day by day into a pus-filled and gross mess on Lulu's arm. It was not a pretty sight to say the least. We'll give you a little more of an update on Lulu and her progress in the coming days. I definitely want to follow up on it as it will likely be beneficial for other people going through something similar. But the most important part of the update is simply that Lulu is happy, healthy, and (fingers crossed) cancer free.

So there you have it. A few updates on things that have been dangling out there for a while. I'm hopeful we'll have more time to blog in the future, but more importantly, more time to work on our various projects in the more immediate future. We have a lot to take care of in our house, and I'd be lying by omission if I didn't mention that Wendy has been fixated on redecorating what amounts to the entire first floor of our house. You know what that tells me? Yeah, the bathroom is NEVER getting done.