Ahhh, Saturday

I did not think Saturday would come fast enough! I have a very uneventful weekend ahead and I'm very much looking forward to it! I'm meeting friends for brunch at 11, then I may come home and do laundry/nap or I may go to Lowes and look at plants for the front flowerbed.

We are heading into our busy season at work and I am not ready for it. I wouldn't mind staying at this company for a long time, but I would really prefer a different position within the company (preferably in a different location)! Maybe I'll add "job search" to my list of things to do over the weekend.

I have discovered a fantastic brand of juice: Odwalla. It's all natural and quite tasty! I just looked them up online and noticed they have bars, too. I'm going to give them a looksy at the grocery today. Oh yeah, I need to go to the grocery store. Today may not be as slow-paced as I first imagined.

Update

Well, hello again! It's been 4 1/2 months since I posted, so I thought I'd give this blog an update! A lot has happened since March. We've taken some trips...Birmingham, Amarillo, Taos. We've been pregnant, put the adoption on hold, then miscarried. We found a stray dog and kept him. We got a new roof and done other home improvements. Those are the only major events I can remember for now.

Currently, we're planning a trip to Denver with some friends and I'm very much looking forward to it. Thanksgiving will be at our house this year with my parents, Russell's parents and hopefully Drew and Colby. I have one spa day scheduled and I believe that's all we have coming up!

Once again, Russell and I have started eating healthy and exercising. Ahhh - it feels good. In fact, I'm going to propose a health improvement program for the Houston division of my company. I'm coming up with a proposal to present to our VP next week. If you have any ideas of incentives that your company or friends' companies have done, I'd love to hear them!

My brother and his partner are moving to Austin from NYC in October. I'm very excited about this! Drew moved to NYC in 1999, so I've only seen him once every couple of years. That is soon to change!

As we've started eating healthy again, I've come across some really great recipes that I'll share a little bit later. They are all natural and very delish!

I'm very much looking forward to the hot summer ending! It's been a fairly eventful summer, and we've had some great times, but I'm looking forward to fall and winter...my favorite times of the year.

Let's see how long I can keep the blog updated!

The Concert was AWESOME!

We had a great time at the concert last night. It was absolutely outstanding! They played for about 3 hours, I think.

The doctor gave me some very potent cough syrup and a strong antibiotic, so I'm quite the zombie. In fact, medicine has never affected me the way this has. It's more like the anesthesia I received when I got my wisdom teeth out. It makes functioning difficult. I'm even missing girls' night because of this medicine...though, I'm not complaining because anything is worth getting rid of a month long coughfest!

My anniversary is coming up and I want to do something fun for Russ. The traditional 4 year gift is fruit or flowers. The first thing that came to mind was wine (OF COURSE!) as a creative fruit thing, but I don't know...any suggestions out there?

This year, "Ireland" is the featured country at the International Festival. I'd really like to go. anyone want to go with me?

Busy-ness Ahead

Tomorrow night, I will be going to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert. I can't wait! I'm not a live music person, aside from symphonies, operas, musicals, but I've wanted to go to this concert forever.

Saturday, I'm meeting my parents in Abilene to pick up the dog I had right after college. She is a basset hound named, Darby. My parents are leaving the country for a while, so she'll be living with us for a bit! She's an old girl and so so sweet.

Remember in my last post, over a month ago, when I got sick? Well, I'm still sick! NOT sick again, but STILL! I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow morning. Hopefully, I'll get cured!

It's good to be back! :)

Long Weekend!

I knew the week was going to be short, but I didn't anticipate it being as short as it was. I caught a cold/allergies Sunday, and tried home & over-the-counter remedies to no avail. Thursday morning, I woke up feeling HORRIBLE, so I went to the doctor, on my way to work.

The Verdict? Tonsilitis, Bronchitis and an ear infection. I started antibiotics, went home and slept aaaaall day, instead of going to work. I had to get well, because...

Russell had PRK this morning! I'm so excited for him! We were there at 9:30 and we were out by 11:30. It went very smoothly (actual surgery lasting only about 3 minutes) and I watched it on a monitor in the waiting room. We came home and he slept for about 4 hours. He's awake now, watching some t.v., which they said is fine. We have to put in eye drops and he takes Valium for the pain. We have a followup appointment tomorrow morning at 7...GASP!

I only wear glasses every once in a while, when my eyes are sleepy or I have to drive long distances at night, so I don't know what it's like to wake up and not be able to see anything but blurry shapes. I am so happy that he was able to do this! I'm certain it will be a life changing experience for him.

Time Sheet

So, this is what my times sheet looks like this week, thus far (all at the office)...
Monday: 9:00 am - 8:30 pm
Tuesday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Wednesday: 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Thursday: 8:45 am - 10:00 pm

I am tired and very cranky. Also, insert a panic attack AT WORK, in the middle of the day on Wednesday, and it makes for a very exhausting week.

I started Monday with a good attitude. I concentrated on having a good attitude and was hell-bent to keep it. But it got lost somewhere around 8pm Tuesday evening.

I cried on Wednesday, uncontrollably in my cubicle, until my boss pulled me into her office and made me feel a little better. I went back to my desk and didn't cry again until 7, and then I didn't stop until around midnight.

I know my boss tried to help me today, but she gave some of my work to someone else (the other really busy person in the office), which made me feel extremely guilty and kind of worse. Of course, the other lady was very sweet about it all, but how embarrassing! UGH!

I don't snap too often, but I have been yelling at Russ for absolutely no reason. He's been kind enough to take it without yelling back. The frustrations I normally have with him (and don't verbalize) are rearing their ugly head.

Aren't you glad I decided to post TONIGHT?!? I just had to vent a few things. Thanks for listening.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE I WILL BE 2 WEEKS FROM TONIGHT?!?!?! Sipping wine with the girls in snowy, cold, WONDERFUL Santa Fe!!! Actually, we'll still be in Amarillo, but I'll be with Megan Eads and my family, then we'll head to snowy, cold, WONDERFUL Santa Fe!!!

Two more weeks...let's just make it two more weeks!

What Were Those Goals, Again?

Well, things have been going okay. I have broken all of my January goals, though I have not "blown" them. Let's take a look, shall we?

1. clean the closets (the guest room & mine)
my closet has been cleaned...semi-organized...I still have time for this one, folks!

2. no alcohol in January
2.5 bottles of wine, 2 beers & 3 martinis in January. CONSIDERABLY less than any one month in 2008. As I was telling my fellow Clean-Eating friend, Kelley, the alcohol is not as satisfying as it once was. I do like a really good wine. If I use this as my "treat" and only have a glass (or two) of really great wine/week, then I'll be happy. I would like to go the remainder of January without, though.

3. no restaurants
I have gone out to eat, but only twice with Russell on the weekends, and one time it was at a health food restaurant. I'll work harder at this one. Pat on the back for taking my lunch to work every day!

4. exercise 2 times during the workweek, 1 time during the weekend
sigh...Jazzercise once, YMCA once (we just joined the Y today)...I'll report back later with this one. We enjoyed the Y tonight and I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires. Going often is definitely a January (and long-term) goal!

5. church twice
sing it with me, friends!!
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down, and he flames went higher.
And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire
The ring of fire.

Get the picture?

6. no candy
I have had somewhere between 3-7 miniature boxes of nerds. I'm sad that I failed at this one, mainly because I'm not a big candy person.

SO, here we are! Fifteen days in and failed all goals. What am I going to do? Pick myself up and keep on truckin'! Let's start again today and see where that leads.

You may have noticed that the book I'm reading (in the sidebar) has been there for 6 months or more. It is an incredibly difficult book to read. The author wrote one of my all time favorite books, and I forgot how hard that one was to read the first time. They are both Russian novels and it's hard to keep up with characters and still stay on course. Hopefully, in 2009, I'll finish it!

I've been working insane hours (usually leaving no earlier than 9:00pm, even staying at the office until 11pm a couple of nights last week). Today, I worked my regular 8 hours and went home (actually to the gym), just like everyone else. I can't think that I have more work than everyone else, but not a single other person puts in more than 8 hours. They don't seem to get hassled for leaving on time and being behind, and I sure don't get rewarded/recognized for staying late and keeping caught up, so why do it? I'm going to attempt leaving on time the remainder of this week and see how that works out for me. I'll let you know!

I'm going to finish my lavender/chamomile tea and go to sleep. Will I make it to the 5:30am step class tomorrow? I hope so! Let the goals start again..........NOW!

Happy New Year!

...and Happy Clean Eating! This week has been a great kickstart to the new year - I have been eating clean and exercising! I'm actually quitting jazzercise and we're joining the YMCA today. It's close to our house (jazzercise is not) and Russell will go with me!


I love the beginning of a new year! I have such a great outlook on life at the beginning of the year. I have goals to accomplish and I actually think I can be successful at them! This year, I have decided to make monthly goals, in addition to yearly goals. I think I tried that last year, but I didn't really follow through.


Goals for January, 2009 (all goals were set & started on 1/5/09)
1. clean the closets (the guest room & mine)
2. no alcohol in January
3. no restaurants
4. exercise 2 times during the workweek, 1 time during the weekend
5. church twice
6. no candy


I know I will already have an exception to number 3, because I have a date with some girlfriends, but I picked the place and it's a health food restaurant. :) Besides, my main motivation for "no restaurants" is for lunch during the week, the weekends with Russell, and dinner when I'm tired and don't want to cook. If I avoid restaurants in those situations, then I'll be happy.

I'm glad to be back to the blogging world. Maybe I'll try to be better at that, too...we'll see!

I'm currently planning my girl trip to Santa Fe in February. It is going to be so much fun! Currently, these are the people going: Megan Brown, my best friend from kindergarden-junior high; Megan Eads, my best friend from college; and Sonja Gonzales, my best friend from my adult life. I love mixing all my worlds together! Of course, I wish a few other ladies could join us - maybe next time!

We're staying here. Doesn't it look lovely?! I think we're planning to shop, drink wine, eat good food, and do a LOT of gabbing! We may hit a spa...I may ski 1/2 day...we'll see where the weekend takes us!

Again, I wish you a Happy New Year! May your resolutions/goals for 2009 start off with a bang and continue throughout the year in the same fashion!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been MIA in the blogging world since the hurricane. After 2 weeks without power, I never really got back into the electronic entertainment mode until recently. It's nice to get caught up on what everyone is doing! Everyone has been so busy and I've been completely oblivious to it all!

Not a whole lot has been happening in our home. I have been working an insane amount of hours, which I wouldn't mind if I had a job I liked. Hopefully it will slow down soon. Something OUTSTANDING came about because of my long hours, though. I got a cleaning lady!! I can't tell you how happy she has made me. Her name is Maria and I love her.

I got home from work last night to find Walter in the FRONT yard. He looked a bit panicked and out of breath. No telling where he went or how long he had been gone. I am so happy that he was at our house though! Terriers are known to bolt out the door and never be seen again.

I slept in late today and now I'm waiting for my inlaws to arrive. We are going out to a nice restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. I've been working so much that I didn't want to cook anything and we didn't want to drive anywhere. It takes so much planning and prep work to travel and cook - I just didn't have it in me this year. We are traveling a lot for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to that!

I'm going to try to keep this updated more and especially attempt at nosing into my friends' lives more often! Man, a girl misses so much when she doesn't check the blogs!!

I hope you all have a safe and truly blessed Thanksgiving!

Ike Update

Hi Everyone, Bdogg here.

Ashley Beth asked me to post an update to let everyone know that she, Russ, and Walter are fine, but have no electricity or water for the time being. The last time I heard from her they were thinking about heading to Austin, so if I hear more from her, I will let everyone know!

Pictures of the House

We did a lot of work over the Labor Day holiday. My inlaws came to town and we worked on the house (which is a constant project). I have posted some pictures below of the living room/dining room, which we did the weekend prior because of a furniture move-out, the office/xbox room, & Russell's closet. The closet is kind of a big deal because we have these 1960 weird closet configurations throughout the house, and we used Russell's closet as a test (um, I wasn't going to use mine as a prototype!!).

And, of course there are pictures of Walter and Russell's parents' dog, Penny in their Tech Jerseys. :)

I still need some ideas of office decorations, so you if you have some suggestions, please throw them out there!

A Visit From a Facebook Application.

A friend on Facebook sent me this, so I thought I'd put it on my blog, since I don't have the energy to post tonight!

The Basics

Hair Color:	almost black
Eye Color:	brown
Height:	5'4
Profession:	nothing important
Relationship Status:	married
Religious Views:	I believe in God

My Favorites

Favorite Color:	red or black
Favorite Car:	Mercedes
Favorite Movie:	I can always watch Sliding Doors
Favorite Hobby:	cooking
Favorite Song/Singer:	currently, I like Amy Winehouse
Favorite Book/Author:	Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Favorite School Subject:	English and Music
Favorite Vacation Destination:	Italy & Japan
Favorite Food:	sushi
Favorite Restaurant:	Blue Fish House
Favorite Animal:	giraffes, but our neighborhood association won't let me have one
Favorite Store:	I love going to Whole Foods & Neiman Marcus
Favorite Celebrity :	Vincent D'Onofrio
Favorite Childhood Friend:	Megan Martin Brown
Favorite Childhood Memory:	I had a pretty great childhood, so it's hard to pick just one...
Favorite Baby Name:	C.E.T.C.B. (you can ask me, if you're that curious)
Favorite Person In Your Life:	Russell

This or That

Chocolate or Vanilla:	chocolate
Big Mac or Whopper:	unless they are meatless, I have to say neither
Coke or Pepsi :	Lavender Dry Soda, please!
Beer or Wine:	wine...always, wine...all the time, wine. please bring me some wine!
Coffee or Tea:	it completely depends on my mood
Apple Juice or O.J.:	neither
Summer or Winter:	definitely winter
Windows or Mac:	Mac
Cats or Dogs:	dogs! lots and lots of dogs!!
Rain or Shine :	rain
Chips or Popcorn:	popcorn
Salty or Sweet:	salty
Plane or Boat:	Plane - I don't enjoy traveling on the water
Morning or Night:	It depends...What am I doing in the morning or at night?
Movie or Play:	play
Walk or Drive:	How far are we going?
Money or Love:	love, I suppose ;)
Breakfast or Dinner:	breakfast is more important, but I like the food at dinner better
Forgiveness or Revenge:	I am very forgiving, but I've always thought revenge would be fun!
Paint or Wallpaper:	I don't like to do either - I'd rather hire someone to do both
House or Apartment:	I live in a house

Do You?

Have Any Pets:	yes! a dog named Walter. You MUST meet him!
Have Any Children:	no
Smoke:	no thank you
Drink:	I'm still waiting for my wine!
Exercise:	LOVE IT, though I'm a new convert this year.
Play On A Sports Team:	Not since Kids, Inc.
Belong To Any Organizations:	The Junior League of Houston, PETA, Human Rights Campaign
Love Your Job:	love is a pretty strong word to use...
Like To Cook:	see Hobby
Play An Instrument:	I play the trumpet exceedingly well
Sing:	I definitely like to sing
Dance:	I am a horrible dancer, but sometimes I get so excited I can't keep my feet still!
Speak Multiple Languages:	Hardly! I can say a few phrases in about 5 languages
Ice Skate:	not in Houston!
Swim:	I more or less keep myself from drowning
Paint:	Wasn't this a question earlier? Yes! It was paired with Wallpaper!
Write:	I can write, but mostly I type
Ski:	It's one of my favorite sports (SNOW only, though!)
Juggle:	Can anyone really do that? I'm pretty sure juggling is made up.

Have You Ever

Stolen Anything:	Just my husband's heart. Yeah, I really said that.
Got A Speeding Ticket:	Too recently, in fact!
Fantasized About A Co-Worker:	Yes - I have fantasized I was strangling a coworker!
Failed A Class:	Yes, thanks to Dr. McGraw and the ridiculously long and detailed Old Testament!!
Screened Your Phone Calls:	every day
Cried During A Movie:	Of course.

Other

Describe Yourself In One Word:	funny-ish
Biggest Fear:	spiders
#1 Priority In Your Life:	family & friends - I hope that priority never changes
Dream Job:	an Ombudsman (I'm a dork, I know...I came to terms with it in Jr. High)
Causes You Believe In:	peace, love & nurture for all humans and animals
Special Talents:	I can honk like a bicycle horn. I often use this talent to lighten the mood at the office.
Where Are You Right Now:	at my house, in Houston
Where Would You Rather Be:	in the mountains - I would always rather be in the mountains!
Famous Person You Want To Meet:	Hillary Clinton
Place To Visit Before You Die:	waaaaayyy too many to name!
Song Played At Your Funeral:	It's Tricky!

We're Back!

We had a wonderful time in Indianapolis and Chicago. I wasn't very excited about Indianapolis (except that my parents were going, too), but I just fell in love with that city! What beautiful country it is up there! I'll post more about my trip this weekend, including lots of pictures from my new camera!!!

Thanks to Kelley, I started "eating clean." I've actually be eating clean for a while, but didn't have any guidance, and thus have not been losing any weight. It's been a year ago that I stopped eating meat and I have actually felt pretty great, but haven't seen any results...even with the new exercise regimen. Though, there is another reason for this - I've been having quite a few weird symptoms for a few years (one being the non-weight loss this year) and it turns out I have PCOS, which stands for Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. The doctor put me on a medicine called metformin, which is actually a drug for diabetics, but is commonly used to treat PCOS. This is my second week on it, so I'm hoping to see some different results in the next year.

This morning, I had to be at work for a 7am conference call, that had SQUAT to do with me. It put me in a cranky mood. Top that with the fact that I haven't slept more than a couple of hours within the last 5 or so days will cut this post short.

I just wanted to check in and say, "hey!" to everyone. I plan to post about the "clean eating," Indy/Chicago trip & the PCOS discovery when I return...probably on Saturday.

Good-Bye Houston...Hello Indianapolis & Chicago!

Today is my last day of work and tomorrow we head to Indianapolis for the Lotus Owner's Club Event (yeah, we're party animals!). After that, we go to Chicago for a week, just to play. I'm so excited!

I hope you all have a great beginning to your August! Many pictures to come, upon our return from the Windy City!

A Do Nothing Saturday

This weekend was fantastic. We've been looking forward to it all summer. When we look at the calendar, those two days don't have anything written in them. Everything else is full. Whenever we got an invitation in the mail, or an evite, or phone call, our hearts would race, and we'd think, "Please don't let this take place on July 19 or 20!" It never did...

So, Saturday, I woke up at 9, made some breakfast and watched t.v., got a very cute haircut at 1, and bought some capris and shoes at Target around 3. We came home, ate dinner, watched "Platoon" (which I did not enjoy), played with our iPhones (in true nerd form), then went to bed. Today is much of the same, except I have the usual weekend chores to do.

The bump on my back has diminished considerably, from the size of a half dollar to about the size of a dime. The pain is virtually gone, so I am very happy about that.

We leave for our Indianapolis & Chicago trip in a week & a half, so I have a lot of research to do. I've done a lot for Chicago, but hardly any for Indianapolis. I've never been to either place, so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I still need some things for the trip - I'd like a cute across the body satchel and some more bras, and maybe a pair or two more of capri pants.

We bought a digital camera the other day for me to have. It's my first one and I love it! I keep it in my purse, in case I need to take a picture of something. I haven't really seen anything yet (except for Walter, of course), so I don't have any pictures to post yet. I'm certain I will have something after the trip! :)