Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Eat, pray, love


I just finished reading this book last night - it had been kicking around our house for a little while, i think i got it back in summer. Initially, i had been really excited to read it, however after reading a couple bad reviews, i was a little hesitant. Its not that the reviews said that it was badly written, the main criticism was that this was another tale of self-indulgence and what some could call "middle class white girl syndrome" - that is, people finding problems in their lives and then up and leaving them, all to "find themselves" and realign their chakras.

I'm mixed about all this, as you might be able to tell. I love that we have the luxury of therapy should people need it - one of my favorite people in the world is my past councilor, carolyn, a woman i would want to meet for coffee everyday if i could and who has helped me through some very difficult times of self-doubt. I try to approach things in life somewhat holistically, with attention paid to both physical and spiritual well-being. However, i do think that as it so often happens, the goodness of these opportunities has been saturated and now you have people falling over the other side of the line -- people in love with this realization that they can be happy, but in order to do so, must up and leave their families. jobs, husbands and travel to Italy to date a man named carlo (i did love the movie "under the tuscan sun" though - despite the liberties they took with the script!). Little bits of this is good for anyone, but it just seems like people give things up so easily, instead of working through the hardships or the rough spots. I guess what scares me and makes me a little sad is it seems that people have lost the ability to tough things out, or rather to know the difference when to stay and when to change something. There's absolutly exceptions to this rule, when situations are bad and horrible, but I'm talking about the ones where grown people act like 7 year olds and give no thought to their kids, or loved ones when they decide that its best to become a spinning instructor in chicago instead of whatever they were doing yesterday. its that instant gratifiction schtick - know what i mean?

Anyway, i feared that this book would be exactly that - and Hurray because it wasn't! There were no children involved to be thrust to the nanny, and the author was well aware of her decisions and their consequences. Not once in the book did i feel that this was a whiny self indulgent midlife crisis character, rather the opposite - a strong, searching, honest, and open woman who had the means and the schedule to adventure around on a spiritual and joyful journey. it was a wonderful read, a perfect escape from the cold weather here.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Getting into Gear

So it looks like, come May 3rd, i will be participating in the Indianapolis Half-Marathon - running with Bryan and Angie, a friend of his from highschool that's flying in special for this from NYC. I haven't participated in a race since i think i was about 9 and i did the saint patricks day dash in downtown seattle. Neat i think, but very scary. Good though, as we will be "training" and simoultaniously tiring our doggies out.
A few days late (supposed to be cooked on Thanksgiving) but just as delicious - Pumpkin Eggnog Pound Cake with Cranberries. Yum.

And a the requisite picture of the pups - what better way to followup breakfast than with wrestling?

Monday, November 26, 2007

Afternoon Aftermath

Casualties from one puppy:

One pink Nike flipflop
One box of honey crisp apples (apples and the box)
One Sweet potato
3 pingpong balls (chewed not eaten)
1 pair of mens boxers (how did she get those!?) on living room floor

We are now enacting Opertaion Crate Delilah. Still leaving her out at night to sleep on her bed, but boy is she ever getting crated during the day. maybe until she's 72.

Monday Morning

Ok, I fear for a little bit this might become a doggy blog, or at least until that stops being in the forefront of my mind. Bear with me - I promise i will stop at some point!

We've had Delilah now for 5 days - whoa! Today is the first day her and milo have the house to themselves, although really they just have the run of the garage and living room. they've been playing like mad, and by mad i mean like two 12 and 14 year old boys, with enough teeth on neck action to prompt Bryan into saying "i hope you never have two boys" because i was constantly looking at the two of them uneasily. I admit it - i worry. I try to stop it and then the worries just come rolling back over me! So i guess this will be a good time to try and cut that out eh? Bryan's going home to check on them this afternoon at lunch and hopefully there will still be 2 dogs, 1 cat, and some relativly intact living space for two humans.

It's funny though, how much like kids these two are. Milo, who has never been a huge eater, and who we've struggled with to get weight on his bones, is now the worlds best eater. If Delilah eats, Milo will twice as much. If she wants to drink, he'll put her to shame with slobbering up twice as much water. its pretty funny how he tries to out-do her in everything. She of course, goads him on - again and again and again, stirring him up again when they've finally gotten setttled down.

Back at work today - isnt it funny how its always that much harder to go back to work after you've had mucho time off? It was a huge task to get out of bed this morning, out from under the oh so warm flannel comforter and pillowcases and into the rainy wet to walk the beasts. In other weekend news though, we found an Indian grocery store! this was awesome - so much mint chutney to be had! It was a great store, and I'm sure I will be back to investigate, although this time i wont bring two dogs, one of whom apparently likes onion naan.

Also, I found the blog of my friend, outstanding vballer of the past, Jackie! How cool it was to find her online and get reconnect and see what she's up to. One of the many perks of the internet i think. We're having turkey soup tonight (the last of our leftovers - yeeeesss!) and we'll probably watch the Pburgh v. Miami to see if i hold onto my league in fantasy football and pickem!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

morning before everyone wakes up

Its morning here - Bryan is still sleeping, there's frost on the grass outside, and the light is just starting to get bright. I'm up with the pups and enjoying the mellow time together - they did so good last night, each sleeping on their own bed the whole night and until this morning when i woke them to take them out.

Success outside and now their both back on their beds snoozing, and its just me and fargus here at the dining room table (fargus who helped himself to the turkey carcas this morning :)!) and who is now tucking himself into the pile of jackets and scarves by the door. What a good making for a saturday morning so far. Are you all still on turkey overload too?

Friday, November 23, 2007

Heart and Belly Full


Meet Delilah, Milo and Fargus's new sister and our newest addition to our little family.



We've been talking about getting another dog for a little while, going back and forth about the pros and cons and finally decided that we were more in favor than opposed. We looked a little bit, and finally found her on Thanksgiving day - what a meaningful day for all of us!

I think we're full up on cats and dogs now and won't be feeling any pangs for adoption again anytime soon - but how neat it is to see the two dogs learn to play with each other and be part of the same pack. Fargus is a little less pleased, but i think we'll do fine - if he could make it through a Milo introduction than i think we can handle one with delilah. The only thing is their both just really really interested in him, and that annoys him a bit.

Its funny to see Milo as the older and wiser dog now - but already he seems so sage and above all her puppy antics. He's interested in her every now and then, but when she comes to lie down next to him, he'll kind of roll his eyes and get up, wandering over to the couch or his bed.

Our holiday has been a quiet one, but a really nice one. Bryan cooked the works for
us, and we enjoyed a full table, and a full house due to our new member. Today we took an inaugural trip to the doggie park which ended up being so much fun - Delilah ran and ran with every dog, wooing every one while Milo caught air doing his frisbee tricks. It was nice also to sit and chat with the people at the park, who almost always are so nice and laid back.

I've been kind of down lately, not really sure why, i think it's a mixture of a bunch of things, but this time at home away from work for the long weekend has really come in handy - getting to take long walks with bryan, play Scrabble and ping pong, and of course keep an eye on the "kids" - these are all good things for the blues!

I got to talk to all sorts of family and friends this weekend, and realized how many people i have in my life that are special - a family who loves me and calls all the time, a boyfriend who is wonderful, friends that surround me from all coasts - and here i am, right in the middle of all the love. its funny - when people have asked me if i'm homesick now that it's the holiday season i usually answer no, its not the specific day that i miss, but rather the every day stuff like dinner at aunts and uncles, or random moments with parents, brothers and friends that are so easily accessible for drop-ins when their all within driving and walking distance.

This thanksgiving I've also thought a lot about all the different places I've spent the holiday - how many different homes I've been in during the past 10 years - moms and dads, and phyllis and scotts, then all my thanksgivings when i was taken in by friends during college - and that one thanksgiving in a hotel in Florida with the UW volleyball team! and now for the past three years its been thanksgiving here with bryan- so funny all those different ways to celebrate the people around us. I know that we aren't perfect by any means, and that sometimes cherishing those around us and in our lives means having taken them for granted at some point - but tonight I'm really appreciative for everyone that has included me in their thoughts and lives - i love getting passed around on the phone and hearing all 14 people at dads house - so much commotion in the background! I loved getting all the comments on my blog from the blog girls - an group that i love even without having met all of them - it seems like such a good group of girls :) and all the texts that i got, saying happy turkey day from far away - too good to be true..

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

How we spend our evenings sometimes






I know I've posted a lot of cat and dog pictures lately - but i cant convey how cool i think it is that Fargus and Milo are finally tolerant of each other and can stand the indignities of sharing a bed. This is cause for celebration in my humble opinion. Bryan was confident that this would happen eventually, but I'm over the moon about it!

Milo finished up his shy and reactive doggie class last night, with a graduation certificate and everything. I think more than anything i now have more knowledge and know how about how to train him than i did before. he's not cured of his fear of little girls and garbage cans yet, but i think he's getting there slowly.

We've been sleeping in the living room in front of the fire for the past week, a guilty pleasure that we started when it was cold out and the heat from the fire place wasn't quiiite making it back to our bedroom. The thing is though, i dont think either one of us thought we'd like it as much as we do! I'm sure the novelty will wear off sometime soon, but for now, we're both content to hit the sack on our mattress in the living room, sort of like camping indoors. I never thought i'd say this but for once its really nice not to have family or friends near by, as we'd feel kind of strange trying to explain the huge bed right in the middle of the room...

Thursday, November 15, 2007


Word has it that snowflakes were falling from the sky earlier this afternoon here in Indianapolis. Winter is here. . . . and i am so happy for it.

Home soon to run with Bryan and the dog and then to build a Big fire to sit in front of all night long.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The Boys




This doesn't happen very much around here, but with the weather getting a little colder, fargus and milo are having to deal with each other more and more, and on rare occassion, it seems like they can actually tolerate each other!
here's all of us snuggling this past Saturday night, i had gotten home late from an event and was very receptive to warm, furry animals.

Milo's classes are going okay and they end next week, right before thanksgiving. I still have yet to really learn how to get him to focus on me rather than on the object or person that makes him scared/frightened, but i think if i contineu to work on the things we've talked about in class things can only swing upward. For graduation next week, we have to teach our dog a trick. I haven't decided yet what I want to teach milo, i'm thinking maybe a wave or take a bow.. or maybe beg?

And last but not least, a fun picture taken with some of my coworkers, before all of us headed home. It's so rare that we all get together in clothes that aren't business casual, so we recorded for posterity's sake.


More Hawks v Browns.




Hawks V Browns









The weekend in Cleveland was fun - Bryan and I drove over on Saturday morning on a beautiful day and pulled into the city just in time to pick up our friend cicie at the airport - from there we checked into our amazing hotel (bryan out did himself on the lodging){we were staying at the same hotel as the Seahawks and saw Shawn Alexander in the elevator!!} and went out for a walk. Later on that night we met Meg and Greg and directed amy into town via the phone...all was perfect.

The next day, Sunday Morning, we hopped up (a process made slower by having 7 people involved, 4 of us women) and met two friends down at the stadium for tailgating. On our way, we stopped to make sure we could get Amy some Boca Brat, which we found uber-easy. Our tailgating experience ended up being great - we met some awesome new people and i also have never been yelled at so many times in my life (due to my seahawks gear in Brown territory). Our seats were in the Dawg Pound (scary!) but all in all in went well - grand tally was no fighting :), Amy got asked out once, I got asked to dance once, and Greg saw one man in the bathroom pee, but forget to unzip his pants. It's probably a good thing that the Browns won, its much easier dealing with happy rabid fans then sad ones.

I think a fun weekend was had by all - and home again we turned our car on Monday morning, to pick up our doggy and crawl into our own bed - always the best feeling! it was so neat to see all those other seattle fans - i felt like i had something in common with all of them, a little bit of home in each one!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

I don't know where you find these things.....

Jesse,
I love the "what kind of holiday food are you and the what flower are you?". Sort of the 2000 version of "flower power". I, by the way, am a daffodil. I finished the alchemist. What next?
Mom

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Colder and Cozier




You Are a Gingerbread House



A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.



Oh winter - I am so happy you're coming. I mean, i know - sometimes late at night when i have to take milo out, i moan and groan at putting on all the layers and layers of warm clothes, but really i do love this time of year. I want to bake, wrap, tie ribbons, decorate, drink steaming mugs of cider and hot chocolate, and basically just surround myself with holiday festivities. I have several little projects lined up that i want to do this year, but I'll keep them secret for now, in case i don't get to them!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Racoon Lake




I just found these pictures (some of my favorites), taken almost a year ago from our trip out to Racoon Lake, which is a park near our house. We had such a fun time there - no one was around so we let milo off leash and he loved running around sniffing everything. He discovered ice for the first time and we all just spent they day bundled up, hiking and enjoying the beauty of the day. That very night it snowed for the first time that winter, and we woke up to a completely different world..
It's been busy this week - not sure why. Monday came and went and then zoom! Thursday already! Time fills with doggy classes, dinners to cook, commutes, etc. Bryan and i stocked up on candy for our Trick or Treaters and guess how many we got!? A big whopping 0! Very disappointing, but understandable i guess since we're the youngest in our neighborhood, everyone else seems to have grown children for the most part.

This weekend we're heading out to Cleveland for the Seattle Seahawks game and meeting up with some friends and family while there - should be fun, I'm looking forward to driving out of town with Bryan, popping in a cd and kicking back. Long weekends are such treats....