happy new year!!!

I don’t have resolutions, I have goals.  I never follow through on resolutions, so I use goals instead.  Here are my current and ongoing goals:

1. Take photos more often
2. Enter and place in the Richardson Photography Contest for the 3rd year
3. Continue working out at the gym at least 5 days a week
4. Start lifting weights (that has been a goal for about 6 months!)
5. Play with Monty every day
6. Continue getting to know Matt and enjoying my relationship with him
7. Spend more time with my friends and family
8. Keep my house clean!
9. Mow the lawn {I was bad this year, bad bad bad!}
10. Level my character in a particular game I play
11. Reorganize my closets {has been on my list for a year and a half}
12. Clean out my garage {also on the list for a year and a half}
13. Cook one day a week
14. Get better at Wii
15. Keep my desk more organized at work {yeah right!}
16. Keep my work email inbox below 200 {YEAH RIGHT!!!}
17. Take Monty on more walks
18. Learn Spanish
19. Blog more often {I have gotten better recently!}
20. Actually make a list of ALL of my goals so I can refer to it

Some of those goals I am already working on, some will be easy to start, and some will probably be on my list for next year.  That is not a comprehensive list, but I am about to head out the door.  If I think of more, I will post again!

 

monster!

I am SO exhausted today.  Matt and I went to go see K sing with the band she joined last night in Deep Ellum (the used-to-be happening place in Dallas that is not-so-happening anymore).  The band is the Matthew Melton Band.  They are jazz-ish, and REALLY talented.  And K has quite a set of pipes, amazing singer if you ask me!

I got home at 12:30 last night.  That is 2 1/2 hours past the time I normally go to bed.  When 7:15 rolled around and I was already 1/2 hour late getting out of bed, it felt like 5:00 in the morning.

I was seriously dragging when I got to work this morning.  Matt said he had two low-carb Monster drinks, and that I could have one.

1) I have never had an energy drink in my life

2) I stay away from caffeine because it gives me anxiety

3) I REALLY needed something to help me this morning

So, here’s the verdict:  it tastes great, it didn’t give me anxiety, and I have the energy of a 3 year old who ate too much sugar.  I have an annoying amount of energy right now.

Now the trick is to not get hooked on Monster…

*I don’t drink out of cans, I don’t like the metal, so I drank out of a cup.  Matt said that is committing some kind of sin.  :) I like it how I like it!

snow day #2

Last week, it iced on Christmas Eve.  I think that is the second “white Christmas” I have had in the 25 years I have lived in Texas.

Today, it is SNOWING!  Actual SNOW!  Not ice, but SNOW!

That’s not to say that it won’t turn into ice by tomorrow morning, but it is SNOWING, not sleeting or ice rain or anything like that.  It’s SNOWING!

It really is pretty.

And I am glad I live in a place where it is unique and special when it happens so I can actually appreciate it. :)

I had to take pictures of my house…

    

a wii bit sore…

On Saturday night, Matt came over and helped me (by watching) set up my Wii.  What did we do next?  You guessed it!!!

I spent a solid few hours playing Wii sports.  Boxing (he had to watch, cause I only have one controller and nun chuck so far), bowling (I *almost* beat him), and baseball.  Then I downloaded Super Mario Bros. 3 from original Nintendo and we played that together.

Sunday, we played for hours more.  Bowling, baseball (no boxing), and more and more bowling.

I have to say… Both of us are SO sore!!! Even my abs are sore.  Mind you, this is Wii Sports, not even Wii Fit.  The boxing is what did it.  The last time I did Wii boxing, I was sore for a week.  (And I work out 5-6 times a week!)

But… shouldn’t exercise be fun?!

kirby!!!

Last November, I bought a Kirby---a pretty pricey vacuum, to put it lightly.

I was vacuuming today, and a part of the engine burnt out.

WHY WHY WHY?  It’s only a year old.

I bet the repair will be VERY expensive as well.  I sorta just want to fix it, sell it, and get something else that I won’t have to worry so much about.  Nor have payments for anymore.

Thoughts?

I should have bought a Dyson.

merry christmas!

The past three days have been a whirlwind of activity around here for the holidays!  I jokingly told a friend the other day that it was easier when I was single.  :)

Wednesday, Matt and I went to my dad’s for Christmas gift-opening, snacks, and drinks.  Dad and Janet got me a wine decanter and a wine diffuser that I have been wanting, which was nice  because I didn’t give them a list this year.  My brother Richard got me Licor 43, a cordial that I had at a restaurant a while ago.  Richard made us all real eggnog drinks, dad and Janet made some kind of really yummy pizza, and we had a great time sitting around, enjoying each other’s company.

Yesterday, we went to his “other family’s” house for Dickie’s BBQ (Matt and Tony were in charge of the food, YUM!) and they all opened gifts.  His mom Peggy, brother Kevin, and sister in law Kellie were there, too.

Then… Ice Storm 2009 happened.  We were all over at Tony’s.  Kevin and Kellie left, and called Peggy to tell her that we needed to leave right then, that the roads were pretty bad.

Matt and his mom had come in his car and I had my own.  Driving in the ice makes me VERY nervous---it was not snow it was sheets of ice everywhere---and seeing how Matt live in CO for 7 years, it was quickly decided that his mom would take his car home, and he would drive us back to my house in my car.  He did a great job.  I only closed my eyes once.  :)

This morning, we headed over to his mom’s for Christmas brunch and more presents.  His mom mad this AMAZING egg casserole thing that was… so good.  I helped, so I know how to make it, too.  :)

I finally got to give Matt his present, and he made me wait until everyone else had opened all of their presents and saved mine for the very last.

He got me a Wii!!!  I am SO excited!  I think he asked me 18 times if I really liked it or if I would like something different.  “It won’t hurt my feelings, I promise.”  Nope, I am definitely keeping it!  I have visions of Guitar Hero, Super Mario Brothers, Wii Fit, Mario Kart, and other games dancing in my head.  Mat is coming over tomorrow to help me get it all set up, and we are going to go to Target and get Mario for me!  I wonder what I will be doing in the evenings…?  :)

I bought Matt a Citizen watch that he has been wanting for a long time… like Tony’s.  So, now the two “brothers” have matching watches.  I know, awww, how cute.  :)

Peggy was beside herself this year.  This is the first Christmas in many years that everyone has been together.  This is Kellie and Kevin’s first Christmas together---last year, Kevin was deployed, and they have only been married for a year or so.  The past few years, either Matt couldn’t make it home from Colorado or his brother was overseas.

She also was so excited to have girls to shop for!  She bought me this really cute necklace that has a “dream” charm on it.  It’s the only piece of jewelry I have on.  She also bought me some really warm socks that actually made my feet hot they were so snuggly.  And bath bombs!!!  Good call, if it was bubble bath, I would end up with a mountain of suds because of the jets.  They smell amazing, they are from this place in Macy’s called Lush, they are all handmade cosmetics.  They smell delish!

Now I am at my house, blogging and waiting for Monty to finish eating his dinner, watching TV and enjoying being home.  It’s Christmas, I’m by myself at home with no Christmas decorations up, but I am glad to be relaxed and hanging with my puppy in my pajamas 7:00 PM.  It is SO good to be home.

I hope everyone had a wonderfully blessed Christmas!!!

By the way… the best Christmas present I could have received happened yesterday morning at a bout 10:45.  Monty’s blood work came back lower than the vet expected---he said if the liver counts were between 200-300, he would be happy, and it was 175.  My boy is going to be FINE!  HOORAY!  He is also acting more like himself, they gave him an anti-inflammatory and he is doing GREAT.  Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers!!!

monty update

Monty had a pretty tough run for it on Saturday night.  Poor guy, gave him his pain meds and his antibiotic around 5:30, left the house for a while, and came back around 10:00, and he was shaking in pain.  I took the liberty of giving him another pain pill, I just could not stand seeing him like that, it was horrible.  He threw up a few times, so we were up a lot of the night.

Sunday morning, he took his pills like a good boy, still moving really slowly.  I did some work in my office, and pulled his bed in there and gave him a nice blanket, he LOVES blankets.  I tucked him in before I left at 11:00 to pick up Matt and go to my dad’s house (that’s the picture above, all snuggled in his blanket).

After we left my dad’s Matt asked if I wanted to just go home and take care of Monty.  I said that really, it would be better if I were not there, moving around the house, because if I was there he would be less likely to rest.  I wanted to give him plenty of uninterrupted sleep, so I didn’t get home until almost 7:00.  More meds, and then it was bedtime.  He slept in his room and I slept in the living room because I hadn’t had a chance to wash the sheets from the night before---yuck!

This morning, he was still about the same.  I got a voicemail from Vanessa at Banfield, the vet’s office, checking on Monty.  I just called back and she put me on the line with the doctor.  I explained the pain, and he said that he could go ahead and recheck Monty’s blood counts on Thursday instead of next Monday, because there are definitely different meds we can put him on, he just didn’t want to do that with his liver being so enflamed.  He said that way, maybe he could put my mind at ease during the holidays.  :)  He is a very nice doctor, the vet tech said the doctor was asking about Monty today.

So, pray for Thursday, I will find out the status on my little boy!  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and concerns!  Monty thanks you, too!!!

mont-asaurus

Thursday evening:

Monty started acting slower, lethargic.  I thought he might be depressed because I have been gone so much.

Clue #1---We played in the yard with his favorite toy, and instead of tearing all over the place with it, he walked back to me.  WALKED!

Friday:

Clue #2---I brought him out of his room in the early AM.  Normally, he would run and tear down the hallway.  He wandered, like he didn’t care.  I knew he was hurting somewhere, but I did not know where.

Clue #3---I called my vet immediately.  They wanted to see him ASAP.  2:15 was the earliest appt.

I had my own eye  appointment that day.  Couldn’t miss it.  Sort of good---the vet had a LOT of tests the needed to run, I would have been doing a lot of waiting---my vet is awesome and they take care of stuff!!!!

Turns out that his left hind kneecap was completed out of place.  He was in so much pain.  They said they would send him home with pain meds, and he would be fine.  Oh!  But I had one more blood panel left in my wellness plan for this year, so why don’t we go ahead and do it?  Yes, we should.

An hour later… “Monty’s liver counts are 5 times higher than they should be.”  Um.  He JUST had it done in November when he had his dental done. Bad, bad, bad.

They gave him some kind of weird injection.  They could not give him pain meds overnight for his poor knee because the liver filters that.

He either has pancreatitis or hepatitis.  Bad.

He was in SO much pain last night.  He got a TON of attention from me, Matt, and Matt’s friend Tony.  He was the most loved dog in the world last night. 

I petted him for 2 hours to get him to go to bed.

Saturday:

He did not move until this morning when I woke him up to take him to the vet.

We parked in the closest spot.  He had trouble walking in.  We had to walk very slowly.  He gave  me the saddest look ever when I handed the vet tech the leash.  He normally follows them just fine, but he tried to follow me out when she tried to lead him back.  His eyes said, “Why are you leaving me???”

They did intravenous  fluids all day today… if this doesn’t fix it, there is BIG problem.

Pray for my Monty.  I love him dearly and I hate it when he is sick.

testing!

A friend at work told me about Windows Live Writer, so I am giving it a try.  Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3!!!

gym etiquette

Alright. I belong to 24HourFitness, have been a member for 4 years or so. I have belonged to a gym since I was 18, and before that, did Jazzercize (yes I did!). Over the years of belonging to a fitness club, I have developed a set of rules that I think all members should follow.

1) DO BATHE. Sounds simple. Is not, apparently.

2) DO brush your teeth. Those cardio machines are REALLY close to each other!

3) DO wash your shirt/shorts/socks/sports bra/jock strap/whatever else that can develop a serious mildew smell. WE CAN SMELL IT.

4) DO NOT bathe in perfume/cologne (see #1). People are allergic!!! (Pointing to myself). Watery eyes, asthma, sniffles... not conducive to a good workout. You're killing us! (This applies to all other areas of life, too).

5) DO NOT talk incessantly and at full volume on your cell phone when working out on the cardio equipment for 45 minutes. Yes, I can still hear you with my iPhone at full volume. Yes, it is annoying. Yes, I do come to the gym to have "me" time. No, that is not selfish. I think you can disconnect from the world long enough to work out for 20-30 minutes. If you can't... buy a treadmill with built in blue-tooth.

6) DO NOT change the channels on the TVs without asking. My gym doesn't allow members to change the channels so people bring in their own universal remotes and change the channels. I'm sorry, sports fans, but you do NOT need 7 out of 8 TVs on ESPN. Be nice and SHARE. What a concept.

7) Ladies, DO look AWAY when when you or another woman is changing.

8) Continuation of #7, DO NOT strike up a conversation when the above is happening.

8) Also, when NOT striking up a conversation, DO NOT talk to yourself instead.

9a) DO NOT just jump right tin and use a strength training machine if you see someone very, very near. They are probably using it. Ask first.

9b) DO ask if you can work in with someone if they are using the machine you want to use, but that means you have to alternate. Didn't we learn how to share in pre-school? It doesn't change as an adult.

10) DO wipe your sweat off stuff!!! Ugh.

11) DO PUT STUFF BACK! I need to use the same weight machines that the "macho" guys do, so please do us women a favor and when you put four 45-lb weights on BOTH SIDES of a machine... put them back! By the time I'm done taking them off, I can't do the machine anymore!

12) DO NOT take up the ENTIRE stretching mat. There is enough room for three people. Six sections, 2 for each people, you do the math. Wait. I just did. Now you have NO excuses!

13) DO wear appropriate clothing. I could go into specifics, but I... alright, I will. Mesh shirts, teeny tiny shorts on men, cutoff sleeves that transform a t-shirt into a little tank top, expectant mothers with just a sports bra and shorts, no shirts on people, women without any support jumping around or running around (ow)... I have seen it all.

14) DO follow other general rules of human decency, like not letting the door slam in someone's face, for example.

That's my list. What are your rules that I might have missed?