Puppy Makeover

Ellie got her every other month (or 3rd month this time) grooming tonight & she looks so cute!  There are pros & cons to her getting groomed....


Cons:
- She hates it, I mean really hates it.  We walk in the front door of PetsMart & she starts shaking & tries to flatten herself on the floor.  It's sad to have to drop her off when she is so scared.
- It's pricey, hence the reason she had to wait 3 months to get groomed this last time around.
- It takes a long time, usually 3 hours, and I don't really like being home without her, it always feels like there's something missing.  Not to mention I can't really plan anything else during that time because she could be ready earlier.


Pros:
- She smells so good when I pick her up.....like soap & flowers.
- She looks very stinkin' cute after! (See below for a visual)


BEFORE

AFTER

Pros win over cons :)

Friday Five

I'm trying to post on here more often, so I decorated this blog & am trying new things such as Wordless Wednesday & Friday Five (5 random questions on Friday), to help.  I don't really like the questions for today, so I'm using last week's questions...

1. What are the coolest and ugliest tattoos you've ever seen?

- The coolest would have to be the rosary tattoos I've seen where it wraps around the wrist or ankle.  I think those are really pretty.  The ugliest are anything on the face or neck....not cool.

2. Have you ever had a meal in which squid ink was an ingredient? How was it?

- Ummm, no. I might have had squid sushi, I know I've had octopus sushi, it wasn't very good.

3. Are you one of those people who has a favorite pen, or one of those people who just uses whatever’s at hand? What’re your favorite pens like?

- I have certain favorite pens.  The ones I like the best are from places I like to remember such as The Girl & The Fig restaurant in Sonoma & Taurus Training (Puppy Play Day) in Austin.  I usually like ball point pens that write fat lines vs. thin lines.

4. There’s a box of colored markers on the table, and someone tells everyone assembled to grab one. If you have first pick, what do you take?

- Dark Purple

5. Have you ever written on a wall in a public place?

- I think I etched my name on the wall in the dressing room at The Gap when I worked there in High School, other than that, no.

Wordless Wednesday

Clearwater Beach, Florida ~ August 2007

Ahhhh Fall

It’s been pouring rain today, making the temperature drop a little & start to feel like fall. I love fall….and spring, both are neither too hot nor too cold, but in Texas, neither last very long. This summer hasn’t been too bad, last summer was brutal – 100+ almost 2 months straight, but we’ve only had a few days over 100 degrees this summer. I was driving home today thinking of a few things I love about fall (besides the weather)…


- Honeycrisp apples (usually I start seeing these mid-late September – soon! They are huge & the name pretty much describes the apple, very crisp & a sweet hint of honey taste)


- Pumpkin lattes at Starbucks (I think I heard these are already available - hope the soy milk version of these taste as good)


- Peppermint blizzards at Dairy Queen (I don’t think they have these until December, they are the best if you add hot fudge)


- College football (I have to admit I don’t watch a lot of college football, but I love to tailgate & am hoping the Aggies do better this year!)

Here, There & Everywhere

About 2 1/2 months ago, I began the RCIA process at St. Thomas More in Austin. RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is a process in which a non-catholic person becomes catholic. That’s the much shortened version. In reality, there is a lot more to it, and it will go on for almost a year. It’s been a great experience & every week after I have my RCIA class, I know even more so that it’s right path for me. This coming Sunday I will go through the “Rite of Acceptance” which will take place in front of the whole parish during mass. I am excited, but also nervous. It’s a big step & to do it in front of everyone? I just hope I don’t trip walking to the front of the church.


I have also gotten involved at St. Thomas More in a group called Life Teen. This is where all the High Schoolers get together for “Life Nights” after mass & also do retreats, events, bible studies, and many other things. I am going to be a Core Team member for Life Teen this year & am so excited about it! We had our retreat last weekend & I can’t wait until things kick off next month. It’s going to be a very busy year!

Dear Dairy

Dear Dairy,
It breaks my heart to write this, but I think we need to go our separate ways. We’ve had some great times together, remember queso at Kerby Lane? That was fun. I also enjoyed those afternoons when you were cream cheese in my made to order sushi rolls. You jack up my stomach though & it’s time to walk away. It’s not goodbye…it’s see you later. We may have to have a quick fling around Christmas when the egg nog comes out.
I will think if you often,

The Beginning of an Era

I have completed 2 days of training at my new job.  I feel like my head is spinning with all the info. I’ve tried to absorb in the past 48 hours.  I have spent meetings trying to learn everyone’s names because I had no idea what was actually being discussed in the meetings.  I can’t wait until it all makes sense & I am not having to ask a million questions a day.

I am very excited about my new job.  I really like everyone there & the company seems great! It’s so different from my last job, which was so disorganized.  When I started yesterday the 1st thing I did was fill out all sorts of paperwork & get a big employee handbook.  I was so excited to see all the systems & rules in places…like a real company!  No more having a boss that changes her mind everyday about how something should be done. Even though I know the next few weeks will consist of me crashing on the couch after work from exhaustion…it’ll be worth it once I have learned it all!

The End of an Era

I can’t believe it’s really over.


I spent 2 years working there, 2 years giving everything I had. In the end, as much relief as it gave me, it also broke my heart to walk away. Maybe because that’s literally what I did…I walked away. I didn’t train anyone to take my place, I just sent an e-mail & that was that. It’s such a mix of emotions. On one hand, I’m thrilled to not be in a job where I’m disrespected, distrusted & unappreciated by my boss. Not to have to worry about what kind of mood she’s in that day or who she’s going to yell at. On the other hand though, it’s sad. During the 2 years I worked there, I did everything I could to help the company, to make it thrive. I nurtured our clients & spoke highly of our products. So it’s hard to leave, knowing they are going to have no idea how to do the majority of my tasks. That my leaving so abruptly is hurting the company I helped succeed for 2 years of my life. I had to do what I did though, enough was enough.


Right now I’m sitting in a wicker chair with Ellie by my side. We’re outside a little cottage I rented for the night in Fredericksburg, Texas. I had to get away for a couple of days. Sitting in my apartment all day, waiting for my new job to start, driving myself crazy with thoughts…it was not good for me. So this morning Ellie & I drove here. It’s been a nice little break from it all. I didn’t bring my laptop (my attempt to cut myself off from the world a little). I did bring a pen & paper…I had a feeling I was going to want to write these feelings down…guess I was right.

I say a prayer tonight to my old company, that my departure doesn’t do too much damage.  That they finally get the coverage & success they deserve.  I saw a prayer to my old boss, that she finds happiness & that her & her son have a wonderful life.  Finally, I say a prayer to the new, for a fresh start, to something wonderful ahead.

Cooper Bridge Run

Two weeks ago I flew up to Charleston, SC to work the Cooper Bridge Run expo & decided to also sign up for the 10K race that Saturday.  I hadn't run too many times since the Austin 1/2 a month before & was a little nervous that I would be out of shape.  I flew up Wednesday night & had 2 very long days Thurs. & Fri. (23 or so hours total) at the expo booth.  I was exhausted Friday night & quickly looked up the route I would need to walk to the race the next morning, got my running clothes all lined up & promptly passed out.


Saturday morning my alarm went off around 7 (the race started at 8), I threw my outfit, running shoes & bib number on & got ready to walk the mile & a half to the start line.  I assumed I was going be alone in this walk, I mean, who walks a mile & a half just to run 6.2 miles & then walk the mile & a half back? I was so wrong.  It blew me away how many people I was surrounded by on the walk over. There were probably close to a thousand people coming from hotels all over making the journey to the starting line.  It was a sight that make me almost teary eyed. I always love race mornings, the feeling of being surrounded by so many people, strangers really, that for one moment, you are connected to for this short time, for this one race that you all spent hours preparing for.  I can't explain the feeling, but it's amazing.  The quiet long walk over made that feeling ever stronger, felt even more amazing.


It was a huge race! Over 30,000 people gathered behind the start line. I couldn't even get on to the street it was so crowded.  After the race started, all of us huddled on the grass were finally able to move onto the street & make our way towards the start.  Here's a picture I took of the start.

The race started & as I had heard would happen, I spent the first few miles (actually most the of the race) dodging people & weaving in & out of those in front of me.  We ran 2 or so miles on Coleman Street (good name!) & then up the bridge. The bridge was about 2 miles long, the 1st mile being pretty much uphill.  Luckily, I run races in Austin & this was no problem for me at all!

I started to realize that I was running each mile faster than I had planned.  When I signed up I thought this race would be more for practice than anything else, but I was soon noticing that I had a chance to PR (set a personal record), if I kept up the pace that I was at.  I left the bridge & continued the last 2 miles weaving in & out on the streets of downtown Charleston.  There definitely were not many spectators at all.  I hardly saw any people on the sides of the streets, but I came to the conclusion that no one was watching the race, because pretty much everyone who lived there was running it! I'm pretty sure 90% of the people who lived in Charleston were running that day.  I turned the last corner, saw the finish line & sped up to cross in what I was hoping was a PR (I later looked up my official time & did in face beat my best time)!  My PR is now 1:05:11, up from my 2007 Cap 10K time of 1:06:45.  After crossing the finish, the number of people in the race became even more astounding. 

I went to try & get some food from the tables & saw people tossing apples, bananas, muffins & bagels at people behind them.  I'm surprised I didn't come away with bruises trying to score some water. It was mayhem!  After somehow also getting my hands on a bagel & banana, I hoped on the bus to get back to the start line & then started the track back to my hotel.  Overall, it was a very memorable race & I'm so glad I signed up! I love getting to run in new places & this was one I will never forget!

Cleanse

After many visits with Dr. Google, I have determined that my liver is having a hard time processing all my food....and alcoholic beverages. So, today I am doing a liver cleanse, sounds fun right? We'll see how long is lasts.

The cleanse consists of only drinking this drink today: 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, couple drops of honey, pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 squeezed lemon & the rest hot water. It's a good thing I think this taste like yummy tea, except for the cayenne part, it's weird to have your tea taste a little spicy. The day following I will try & stick to no solid foods, just eating some broth, carrot juice, things like that, and then very healthy foods that are easy to digest for a while.  Alright, let's go!

9:30am - Drink #1 - I'm feeling excited! I have a good feeling this is going to help me feel a lot better! Still liking the drink (I had a test glass last night to see how it tasted). I do feel a little dizzy, but I think it's all in the mind because I usually don't eat until noon anyway...my mind just knows it's getting no food today.

11:15am - This is totally a mind thing, I feel so weak & it's only 11...haha.

11:55am - Drink #2 - Still good! I switched to a raw apple cider vinegar that I got from a co-worker, it's even better. It helps that I really like vinegar...we'll see if I still like that taste after today.

12:45pm - A burger sounds really good right now.

1:40pm - Hunger has passed, it helps that everyone is back from lunch.

2:15pm - My stomach is making some funny noises.

3:20pm - Drink #3 - Not tasting as appealing as drink #1, but still pretty filling.

6:30pm - Home and hungry. It's so much harder knowing there's a cabinet full of food so close.

7:00pm - I really want something to eat right now. This is tough.

7:35pm - Trying to watch TV to distract myself from food...it's not working.  They are eating chocolate cake on How I Met Your Mother & making chicken dumpling soup on One Tree Hill.

8:35pm - Drink #4 - Doing a glass without the cayenne pepper....makes it taste much better!

9:20pm - Update, couldn't finish glass. Vinegar....yuck!

10:00pm - No longer hungry, but headache has started.

11:10pm - Bedtime - I made it! Pounding head & will probably dream of cheeseburgers, but I did it :)

Summary: I don't see how people do this for more than 1 day...it's tough. I totally underestimated it.  It was good that being hungry seemed to come in waves, I thought once it hit, it wouldn't go away until I ate something.  I don't think I've ruined vinegar for myself entirely, just the apple cider kind, and probably not forever. I am hoping I can keep up with the liquids tomorrow & not ruin it all by scarfing down a huge burger....man, burgers on the brain today, I could never be a vegetarian.

Update: Day after - I thought the hardest part was going to be yesterday, until after a night of headaches & little sleep, I woke up feeling awful. Dizzy, sick to my stomach, I stayed home from work today because I could barely move. Guess that's a detox for you, huh? I've managed to eat a few things, chicken pho soup & some carrot juice.  Feeling better now, will probably make some fish & steamed veggies for dinner.  Geez.