Doggone Tired!

When I was little I hardly ever got in trouble (your welcome mom and dad) but when I did I get in trouble I wasn't really punished my mom would just say "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed". For most kids, this would be the best punishment ever, they could keep watching tv, play with their friends etc. But for me, this phrase cut me deep. 

This could be why I am so hard on myself and hold people to such high standards. A strength and a weakness all in one.  So anyway the point of this post...

I was coming home on Friday and I decided to drive to the front office of our apartment to pick up a package (yes I could have parked my car and walked but my shoes were super un-comfortable)...anywaaaay...I pick up the package and drive back to my parking garage spot. 

Now keep in mind I am coming from the opposite direction and turning right into my spot, when I usually turn left. It may seem like a small detail but it made a difference I swear. So anyway I am turning right and I think I have enough room but I am proved wrong when I feel the back part of my car scrape on the parking garage.

Ugh.

I get out and survey the damage and there is white paint all over the side of my car, above my back wheel. I immediately spit on the bottom of my shirt and start trying to rub off the paint, which worked for some of it. But there was some paint that wouldn't budge with my classy spit shine technique. I just stood back and looked at the white paint. And it was weird, I wasn't mad, I was just disappointed. Full circle moment eh?

Does anyone know how to get paint off of a car? I have heard Turtle Wax works...

Later that night I met up with one of my oldest high school friends. We indulged in wine, talked about stuff that was funny and stuff that was serious but it was so nice to just have all my focus on a good friend. I swear there is nothing that replaces good friendship.

Then on Saturday Jon unveiled his home made beer that he has been making and it was yummy! Again, it was another nice night with good friends. Doesn't get much better than that!

Then on Sunday Jon and I joined my family for the Superbowl. While the game was a focal point, this new little lady named Daisy got much of the attention. This is Daisy, she is my brother's (James) new dog that he got with his girlfriend. Yes, my brother got a yorkie.

Jimmy has started to wear his sweatshirts backwards so that he can keep Daisy close.

I made sure to keep showing Rosie that she was top dog with me.

At one point the game turned around and the Cardinals took the lead and things were looking bleak for my Steelers fan family (mainly my dad). Here is my dad looking quite pensive while the Cardinals looked like they were going to win it all.

But phew, thank goodness, the Steelers pulled through! Here is my dad with his Superbowl cake, Steeler's licence plate and the Jersey I bought him.

By the end of the weekend Jon and I were tuckered out. Monster was too!
Oh and guess what? Here is your first peak at our little puppy.

Internet, I would like to introduce you to Frankie!

Did you guys have a good weekend?

Sassy Sidenote: Blah Blah Blah

Four Eyes

Last week I woke up, shuffled to the bathroom, grabbed my contacts case, popped in my right contact and then fished around for the left one but it was gone. Normally I would just open a new pair but ya  see, I didn't have any left. So for the past week I have been stuck wearing glasses while my contact order came through.

Glasses are kinda cool though, I constantly look like I am on the case of a super cool Nancy Drew mystery or deep in thought or what people expect brunettes to look like-you know librarian-esque. 

But for as cool as I may feel when I am wearing my glasses they can be a huge pain in the butt. For example when I am getting my "30 day shred" on and my face is sweaty my glasses slide down my nose-maybe they are trying to run away from Jillian Michaels too?Or there is the scary moment when I peer over the frame on my glasses and realize just how bad my eye site is...yowza! I swear it looks like I am opening my eyes underwater. But the trickiest would have to be putting on make-up without full eyesite. So instead I have just put on some mascara and blush and called it a day.

Oh contact lenses, how I have missed you.

The real rib tickler is that when I was little I wanted glasses! (I also wanted braces, which in hindsight might have been good for the snaggle...). Anyway, I blame  Mallory from the Babysitters Club for making me want glasses and subsequently making me need glasses because those books were so darn addicting!

Brusha, Brusha, Brusha

On Thursday I went to the dentist for a deep cleaning (which by the way, did you know they numb your entire mouth? That's a feeling like never before), a cavity filling, and a little fixer upper on a front tooth because I chipped it by grinding my teeth at night (stress much?).

So my dentist finishes up all of this work and says "alrighty your all done"

I sit up, full mouth completely numb, and I say, "I think my snaggle is moving" except it sounded like " I shink my shnaggle ish moving". My snaggle by the way is a crooked tooth on my bottom row of teeth.

So my dentist takes a look at my snaggle and says, "It might feel like it is but don't worry it's not."

"Okay cause I was worried that it would keep moving forward and I would look frightening. You know, like that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa has to get braces and they show her pictures of her teeth in ten years if she doesn't get braces?"

My dentist then pauses, looks seriously at the snaggle, and says, "Hmm I think I know what the problem is." I lean in to hear my snaggle's diagnosis. "The problem is that you are applying cartoons to real life."


*Image courtesy of Google Images

I'm In Shape, I'm Just Not Sure Which Shape

Growing up I was always on the smaller side. I was thin but I was strong. It was all due to being young and incredibly active. I would be the girl that people would pick up because they could, the girl that second helpings were forced upon, and the girl that her dance teachers would pull aside after class and ask if she had an eating disorder developing. Thankfully I did not have an eating disorder, in fact I had very ordered eating. I didn't like a whole lot of foods but the ones I did weren't all that bad for me, I enjoyed veggies, ate meat, then went vegetarian for a while (only because Jonathan Taylor Thomas was, mind you). And occasionally I would indulge in a burrito (this time I am actually talking about food and not the dog), but it didn't matter because I would be dancing from upwards of ten hours a week; burning off every last calorie. I had a six pack.

Once more, for the people in the back, I had a six pack!

I was so damn healthy.

Me (right) at dance camp

Me (being held) by some dance team gals

Me (left) in Germany...posing I guess?

At home on stage (second from front)

And by no means am I drastically overweight, I understand that. I am not asking you to inundate the comments with "oh mah gosh you are not fat!" I appreciate that if that was your intention, but understand I am not trying to fish for compliments, I swear. All I am trying to say is that I miss being strong, I miss slipping clothes on and not having to think for a second about re-arranging a developing muffin top.I hate having to smile in pictures while being wary of a double chin. I just miss having a healthy body. Sure my boobs are bigger, that's cool I guess. But they don't look as impressive when everything else is ballooning. Our bodies change as we get older, but I don't like the direction that mine is headed.

I took a yoga class last Thursday and for the first time in a very long time I felt a true connection to my body again; I haven't felt this way since I was able to dance. I felt my muscles become warm and come to life. The only thing I can compare it to is, you know how you have to crack a glow stick to make it glow? Yeah, well that's how my body felt, like I was tapping into it's potential again. 

Somewhere along the way between being a hyper active dancer and a non-dancer I have become stagnant. In many ways I have become a walking brain. I go to work, I go to my internship, I go to school and I am always using my brain and making it stronger and completely neglecting the whole rest of my set up.

I may not be able to dance like I used to, and little by little I am getting used to that. But that doesn't mean I can't stay fit in other ways.  I owe it to myself.

A Follow Up Blog

Remember when I told you that there was this Thoreau quote that I just loved but I couldn't find it on the Internet? Well turns out it was Emerson. It is one of my favorite quotes about how we are all able to make an impact on the world and that success is best measured in the simplest of ways; and I guess if I had to pick I would want this on my tombstone*.

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

So tell me this, what does it mean to have succeeded in your book?

*If you are baffled as to why I am being all macabre and talking about my tombstone, go here, it will make sense. So don't worry I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon ;)

A Very Bloggy Weekend!

On Friday evening Steph Corwin and I met up for the first time! We had been organizing this meet up since November and Friday it finally happened! There was tons of puppy talk and funny stories. Steph was such a sweet gal, I can't wait to meet up with her again!

On Saturday Jon and I met up with Ashley and her hubs Chris. What can I say about these two? Well, for starters they are exactly the type of people Jon and I enjoy spending time with and we are so excited for them to start a new life in Portland* but soooo sad that we won't be able to continue double dating with them. I think I smell a road trip....

As we sat in Chris and Ashley's living room I kept coming back to the thinking about how blogging has impacted my life. The night before I met up with Steph because of blogging, and then on Saturday I was sitting in the living room of Chris and Ashley petting their adorable dog, a dog that Jon and I will have the brother of within a month! I mean what luck!

It was a wonderful, action packed, evening; we went to the beach with the pups (go here to see the pics that Ashley took of Jon and I), had some yummy dinner, and capped the night off with, my favorite, great conversation.

*But for reals Chris and Ashley are you sure you want to move into a super awesome house in Portland? yeah I thought so, but we will definitely be visiting!

Woof!

In one month exactly Jon and I will be the proud "parents" of a little bulldog. And to be quite honest. I.CAN'T.WAIT!!!! But you probably figured that one out.

Seriously, it's all I can think about.

I have been reading bulldog blogs, bulldog books, having bulldog dreams and scanning you tube for any bulldog videos I can get my hands on. I have even been coming home during the day to get used to coming home at every opportunity to spend with our puppy.

It's very strange, I feel as though we are expecting a baby. (And ya ya, I know it's totally not the same thing) but still in our own way we are welcoming a new life, personality, family member to our comfortable couple.

Oh and guess what? We are having a boy ;)

But for some reason when we tell people (in real life, not on here, you guys are super supportive) that we are getting a puppy, all they can respond with are negative things. They try to warn us about all of the responsibilities, blah blah blah. And I just listen politely and take it in but in my head I just think "don't they think that we thought of this before? Seriously?"

I think some people are just negative and they like to spit poison on people's sunshine. And really that is their problem not ours. It's just annoying. I can see that they might be trying to "help out" but can't they figure out how to help out without being rude?

Whatever I wont' let that stand in my way one month from now our little guy will be here and none of that will matter.

Riddle Me This...

Ya know what's fun? Being interviewed.

Lacey sent me these cool questions and now right before your eyes, I will answer them. Wowee!

Why did you decide to start a blog?

Well I have a lot say at all times and that is pretty exhausting for Jon, my friends, and my family so I thought, "hey why not express myself however I want via blog?" and well the rest is history and it seems to be working out pretty well. Much better than I thought actually.

If you had to pick a saying for your tombstone to describe your life, what would it be?

Well my personal motto is "nothing worth having is ever easy". Buuut that might make me sound like a prostitute if I put that on my tombstone wouldn't it? Hmmm probably this one quote by Thoreau...that I can't seem to find online! I'll keep you posted if/when I find it.

Would you rather be on Brett Michaels' Rock of Love, or Flavor Flav's Flavor of Love? "Neither" is not an option.

I would pick Rock Of Love because maybe Brett would let me use his flat iron.

If you had to choose between listening to bad music for the rest of your life, or watching bad movies for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

Watching bad movies, I NEED good music more than movies.

Can people truly be friends with their exes?

I might not be the best person to ask about this since I have been with Jon for, well, forever. But I think it is really hard to know a person in such a different capacity, when you had known them so intimately (sometimes literally). I think it is hard to change gears from lovers to friends but that is just a guess.

Okay friends pick a question and answer it in the comments, I am curious!

Let's Celebrate Yesterday!

So apparently yesterday was "de-lurking day". I swear I miss it every year (well actually I  have only had my blog for little more than a year), so I missed it again this year. But I think delurking day is cool and I don't want to miss out! So gosh darn it I am celebrating today!

 I am also stealing Slynnro's graphic and her delurker question, 

How did you guys start reading me? Was there a referral process, did you google something strange and end up with me at the end of your search? If would love to hear about how you started reading my little ole blog even if you are a regular commenter. So come one, come all and tell me how we met! 

P.S.   I am feeling much better today, and just so you know I am attributing it all to your kind comments on Friday. Who needs medicine when you have nice readers thinking about ya?

Rollin With My Homies

Raven did a great post about roller skating and how it is so natural to her even now, years after she first learned how to glide. While I am happy, and slightly jealous of her mad skills. Reading her post flashed me back to my own roller rink memories-which were not so candy colored.

I avoided skating parties like the plague. Every time I flipped open a invitation with some for of baby animal or clown (shudder) inviting me to a party of my classmate, I prayed that it was not being held at a roller rink. As I scanned the card for the location of this birthday celebration I would chant, "Please be at a bowling alley, backyard, park...anywhere but the roller rink!"

Much to my dismay skating parties were all the rage in the early nineties. And being a social girl I would go and lace up my skate in honor of the birthday girl or boy. I usually would not let my mom stay at these parties with me simply because I didn't want her to see her daughter at such a low point.

There I would be clinging to the side of rink, my skinny little legs struggling to keep me up with a fake smile plastered to my face. My friends would skate by and say "come with us" and I would do my best to convince them that I actually preferred the white knuckled grasp I had on the wall. And within the last fifteen minutes of the party I would finally get the swing of this whole "roller skating thing". I would let go of the wall and do this hesitant "glide", that really resembled how someone who had just messed their pants would skate; the bent knees, the butt held out just in case of a fall and the arms stretched out at a petrified angle. 

It would always be these times in which my friends would come skating along holding hands and say "come on hold our hand". Oh this was risky but it was nice for the first go around the rink, that was until they decided to play crack the whip. For those of you fortunate enough not to know what crack the whip is, it is when a long line of kids hold hands and try to swing their arms so that the person on the end of the "whip" goes flying off into the wall they had just reluctantly, let go of. Tell me how is this fun? Whatever happened to pin the tail on the donkey, or scavenger hunts, or a pinata?

But then roller blades came along when I became a decent skater and that was also the same time when skate parties went out of vogue. Naturally. So that is my little flash back about skating...do you share my pain or are you as talented as Raven?

Happy Friday...Or Something

Since last Friday I was doing my best to ignore the fact that I felt the beginnings of a flu/awful cold, something of that nature. I gave in to my icky feelings on Sunday, lying on the couch, catching an all day marathon of "Real Housewives of Orange County" all while Jon cleaned, grocery shopped and made me some of the best carne asada I have ever had.

Throughout the week I had stuff like school, work, and an internship to worry about so I couldn't really focus on how awful I felt. But last night as I drove to class I felt the chills and then horrific sweating take me over-I'm pretty sure a fever breaking of sorts was going down.

My alarm went off this morning and I realized I just could not get up. My body just said "no way lady, not today!" So I called in sick. And now here I lay in bed, waiting for my doctor to call me back so I can hopefully get in for an appointment today. So if you need me I will be here...all day....just sittin here....

and yes I am wearing a Justin Timberlake concert t-shirt. And I am not sure why but my eyebrows look large and in charge in this picture. I swear they aren't in real life. Seriously they aren't.

School Is Back In Session

With each quarter here is the re-assurance of a class full of friendly and  familiar faces; the guy that asks questions, the girl that sucks up (no that isn't me) and the friends that you haven't seen since two quarters ago even though you swore you would get together in the interim. There is a new professor (who would totally be played by Tom Hanks in the movie version of my life) with new info to profess, and test questions waiting to be answered. A new file opened in my computer (I have switched from pen and paper this year, for the first year ever!). A crisp book filled with priceless information, and while the information in the book is priceless, the book itself is incredibly overpriced. I am taking a class on brain chemistry and drug interaction; or pharmikinetics and pharmikodynamics as we call it in the biz ;) And as much as I am probably going to whine on here about writing papers, tests etc, 

I am actually really excited about this class. Brain chemistry is a secret passion of mine; in fact if time or money was no worry I would really like to be a brain surgeon, stop laughing, seriously, a brain surgeon. We are in possession of one of the most wondrous things on this planet right beneath our skull. Can you imagine getting paid to work on the brain? Let's forget the fact that the idea of being a hairstylist completely freaks me out because whatever you do to someone affects their day to day life. So back to my point, this is probably my fourth class on brain chemistry and last night on the first class, even though I had heard some of this stuff what seems like a million times, I still got all "ooh ooh pick me" feeling (insert a snort and a visual of me pushing my glasses enthusiastically up my nose). I love going to school, I really do, it makes me wonder how I am going to do when I am done in five months because I thrive on it.

I was actually talking about this with my mom and she has a theory that part of my recent depressive feelings could be coming from the fact that I wasn't being stimulated by new knowledge from school. With only five months left of my school career, it makes me wonder what I life will be like without school and how will I fill that void? Is anyone else that is in school still worried about this? If you are out of school what are some things you fill your non-school time with (classes, hobbies etc)?

Welcome Home

Yesterday marked 1 year that Jon and I have been living together. One year of living together and we still love each other so that is a good sign. I love coming home to him and snuggling up next to him at night. Sometimes it feels so natural I can hardly imagine a time when we didn't live together. Sure there are the moments when it isn't so easy, like when he opens his mail and leaves it exactly where he opened it or when he avoids the fact that our trash really needs to be taken out. But most of the time it is pretty fun living with a boy.

Last year I gave you a little photo tour of our digs and now this year I am going to be all fancy and give you a video tour.

Incogcheeto

There are a couple parts to this story that you need be up to date on:

1. Ashely gave us the name of the breeder that she got Burrito from. I have contacted the breeder and she told me that she will have puppies ready in February and April. With Jon's urging we have decided to save and get a pup in April.

2. I am awful at surprises. Just awful. I always end up finding out accidentally, I swear it is always accidental. And then I feel bad for ruining the surprise.

3. I may or may not have the tendency to over react big time.

Okay now that you are up to date I can continue. 

I was looking at pictures of bulldogs online and whining because I wanted our puppy now. Not in April.

Now this is where I lose it and where the word "sensibly" should be swiped right off my blog header and thrown into the Internet trash for all of eternity (damn I am dramatic). I can't just leave things be. I keep whining about how I really wish we had decided to get the dog in February and not April. But he won't budge and says April will give us enough time to save etc. etc.

Jon re-assures me it will all work out. I ignore him.

And then as I tend to, I may have gotten a little dramatic about the whole situation. I started to cry and say "cooome oooon let's get the dog in February". He continues to say no and flat out ignores my pleas.

And then Jon pulls the wet hair off of my face and smiles with those dimples, oh the dimples and says "you know you are kind of ruining the surprise, I am going to buy you the dog for Valentine's day, actually I was going to sit him in a stainless steal food dish with a big red bow around his neck...I was trying to be incogcheeto*..."

And then I just sit there feeling like a giant toolbox. And then I cry a little more because yay our dog and boo I ruined what could have been the sweetest surprise . 

So yeah, Bulldog=February if all goes as planned.

Please tell me you have ruined surprises before....

oh and Jon was referring to this when he said "incogcheeto"

So as you can imagine I am THRILLED that we are going to have our little puppy in one month!! Yesssss! I can't believe it. Even though Jon and I have been together for such a long time getting a puppy is something we have never experienced. It's a big step and I can't wait.

Happy New Year/Birthday Mom!

My mom was one of the first babies born on the year she was born (which I am asked not to repeat, as my mom is convinced she continually celebrates her 28 birthday). Yuppers, my mom is a New Year's baby. This year my mom said she wanted to have a game night...in our pajamas.

Here are my mom's footsie, sock monkey p.j.s

20 party goers, including family and friends showed up to celebrate her birthday. As you can imagine this made it very difficult to explain and play the games. Especially when the people you are explaining the games to happen to be my family, we are loud, talk over each other and we think that we are incredibly funny. So explaining the games, which happened to be my job, was comparable to herding cats. At one point I sighed heavily as I tried to explain the games and Erin reached over, patted me on the leg, and said "don't worry you are doing fine". She knows me so well, it was nice to have such a cool head amongst all the craziness.

But eventually we got down to playing the games, which included Partini and Taboo, for which James was the official "buzzer". 

My dad loved Taboo so much that after we were done playing he pulled Jon aside and said "let's do some more!"

Here I am with Richard's girlfriend, yup that girlfriend and Erin.

And here is the group shot we ended the night with (three of my cousins are missing)

Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

It's A New Day!

Last night Jon and I got snuggled up in our pajama's, ordered a pizza and had a lovely New Year's in. It was one of the best New Year's celebrations I have ever had. Just me and him, completely content.

When the ball dropped we had issues getting a proper midnight kiss because both of our lips were stretched in huge laughing smiles. Now that sounds like a pretty perfect way to welcome in 2009 if you ask me. We stayed up for two more hours reflecting on 2008, expressing our hopes for 2009 and listening to some great music that reflected both of these things. We got so inspired by the music that we decided to pick a theme song for 2009. Click Here to check it out!

So let's see what happens this year, some stuff I expect, some things I can't control, but the one consistent thing being the fact that I will more likely than not be sharing it on my little blog ;)

Here's to good health and happiness in 2009.

Cheers!