{Augusta} a.k.a White Beard

 

 

Augusta is a very special dog. She hates large groups of people, loud noises, thunder and being left alone. Her latest pet peeve is an empty water dish or dog food bowl. She has gotten into the habit of pawing at either bowl {even Harley's food bowl} when it is empty. P-Dizzy and I swear she just wants to keep us busy, waiting on her hand and foot.

After we fill up her bowl, because she just pawed at it like 50 times, she looks at it {to make sure it's up to her standards} AND THEN SIMPLY WALKS AWAY!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! 

 

But she can also be very sweat. Augusta will love you forever if you take her to look for rabbits in the open field, rub her belly, give her a blanket to lay on, praise her endlessly, give her a treat or be very quiet when she is sleeping. 

A Gift from the Universe

It is truly awe striking when you are searching for something- not a physical object but more along the lines of a goal, purpose or answer- and you feel completely lost and overwhelmed and never think the answer or whatever you are searching for you will come to you and then out of nowhere during a time when you are least expecting it or are not even focusing on it the answer just presents itself to you like a gift from the Universe.

This exact thing happened to me this evening.

You see I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE setting goals and thinking about the future and my dreams and everything I want to accomplish. But this year has been different. Coming up with my 2012 goals seemed daunting and boring and I knew they would be very similar to 2011's goals. So I began to get squirmy. I talked to Preston and asked if we could sit down and talk about them {we like to make sure we are both on the same page} and put them in writing. Maybe if I can get Preston excited I will become excited about setting them.

So we set a date to discuss them and so I sat down at my computer this evening and starting typing them out so I would be ready to share and receive input. As I typed my brain powered off. I felt very overwhelmed and annoyed for not coming up with anything besides the obvious.

I started writing my list.
1. Financial
2. Fitness
3. Marriage
4. Personal Growth
5. Giving Back
6. Organization
7. Work
8. 30 Before Thirty List

Then it hit me. I am not excited to make goals for 2012 because I have this huge 30 Before Thirty list looming over my head. I know, I created this list and the world is not going to end it I don't achieve all 30 items but it will go down as another project that Lori started but didn't finish.

I then become soo completely frustrated I started reading some of the blogs I follow. I ran across this blog: The Athletarian  and a post about a fitness program she is following and her new desire to become lean and fit. Out of curiosity I Googled the program she was doing and found Jamie Eason staring at me telling me about a 12 week fitness program she put together for women. Interesting I thought. So I watched the intro video  and I knew immediately, like a gift sent from the Universe, what my main 2012 goal/focus should be. 

More to come!

Best.Christmas.Gift.Ever

Ashley got me a bomb.com Christmas present. Probably the best Christmas present ever! Somehow she always knows what to get me.

This year she got me a pink wake boarding life jacket. The life jacket is so professional looking.

It zips  up the side and even has thumb holes to pull it down. But the best part is it's not supposed to ride up. It should stay in place. The pink life savor has a ton of padding both in the front and back for when I yard sale it {wipe out}.

I absolutely cannot wait for boating season!

Cruise Weight

Let's talk about the topic that everyone worries about when they go on a cruise. Is the 10 pound weight gain fact or a myth?

To tell you the truth I was pretty worried about gaining 10 pounds! That's a lot for this shorty and very noticeable. For most of the trip I tried to make somewhat healthy choices and not gorge. I did allow myself to drink all of the alcohol my wonderful husband could order- which was a lot. I also allowed myself to eat desert every night at the main meal and a lot of bread and butter.  

I had great hopes in going to the cruise gym everyday and running on the treadmill. It didn't happen once. I finally allowed myself to stop feeling guilty over it and enjoy the vacation.

When I got home I had no idea what to expect. I knew I gained some weight, but I didn't know how much. Turns out I gained 3 pounds. Not too bad.

What has been hard is getting back into working out and not eating out. It's super easy to eat Chick-fil-A for lunch and then eat out for dinner with P-Dizzy. I am hoping that once all of the holidays are over with I can get back into a routine.    

{Must Have} Mr. Clean...

I just saw the new Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber commercial. Have you seen it? I have one word for you: SOLD.

Click HERE to watch the commercial and see why I'm going to buy it tomorrow and try it on my scum filled shower. 

Or watch this YouTube video on the Magic Eraser. 

----------------------------

When I was searching for a Mr. Clean image I found some pretty interesting variations! 

{Read This} The Language of Flowers

I read a great book on the cruise- The Language of Flowers by Diffenbaugh. 

The central topic of the book- the secret language of flowers- is extremely fascinating. I knew that different flowers convey special meanings such as red rose- love, yellow rose- friendship {actually Diffenbaugh argues that it's true meaning is infidelity} but that's all I knew. The book brings to light various flowers and their secret meanings that most people do not know about anymore. As the story goes on, you start to appreciate the message that a flower conveys- when you give a flower to someone or the bouquet you carry down the isle. 

As the main character learns, the meaning of a flower has changed over time from author to author sometimes even conveying conflicting meanings. Daisy is known to mean: Innocence, Loyal Love, I'll Never Tell, Purity. The author and main character were so troubled with all of the conflicting meanings they came up with their own language of flower dictionary with each flower only having one meaning- the best meaning. According to Diffenbaugh and the main character Victoria, daisy means Innocence. In case your wondering mistletoe means I surmount all obstacles.... not kiss me.

If the meaning of flowers does not excite you, the plot and depth of chraacters are well worth the read.

What I've Learned about Cruisin

Picture taken from internet.

P-Dizzy and I just got back from our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the ship Carnival Glory. We had an amazing time! Before I tell you all about it in detail, here are some things that I learned about myself and cruisin.

~ Do not book through a travel agent. Didn't receive much value.

~ Take time to pack... thoughtfully. I packed way to many outfits with some random shirts/skirts/shorts that literally went with nothing.

~ Leave the jewelry at home. I did not wear one necklace the entire trip. Earings is all I needed.

~ Pack more comfy cloths like sweats and sweatshirt. Towards the end of the trip all I wanted was to relax in some sweats.

~ Pack more jackets to wear at night. It gets cold from the air conditioner.  

~ Make sure to pack the right camera charger. My camera died the first day. I dug into my bad to find that I packed the wrong charger! We bought one of those crappy disposable camera's. Hopefully the pictures will turn out half way decent. 

~ Leave the workout clothes at home. I realized that when given the choice I choose alcohol over getting a good nights sleep and running around the track.

~ Pack all the swim suites you can. I am so glad I had a different swim suite for each day.

~ Bring a book. I really enjoyed reading by the pool in the sun.

~ Bring a more comfortable bag to carry to the pool/island that will hold everything and doesn't make your husband look border-line homosexual when he's carrying it.

~ I loved our room. Getting a balcony is the way to go. 

~ Tip the people who really get to know you. We had one waitress, Jo Ann, on the pool deck who really got to know us and brought us buckets after buckets of beer. She was soo amazing and gave us great service. The last night we tipped her personally and the  true emotion and gratitude that she showed us was priceless. She hugged us and kissed us many many times. It is people like her that make your trip wonderful! We also had a couple of waiters in the casino who knew got to know us and what we drank. They loved saying Preston's name and probably remembered us because of it.... or because of how much we drank.  

We had an amazing time and will most defiantly go on another cruise in a couple of years. Now it's time to get ready for Christmas. It didn't feel like Christmas at all in Miami or the Islands. And it doesn't feel like Christmas at our house either. Not sure if I'll put up the tree this year or not.

 

{30 Before Thirty} 2 Down

Wow, I am really behind in the blogging front. I have been super busy and just haven't found the time. It's about time I update the 30 Before Thirty list.

29. Go to a bar to play pool. Done-Zo! A couple three weeks ago P-Dizzy, D & H and I went to my favorite pool playing bar- CJ's. We listened to some pretty good karaoke and played some pool. They all tried their best to talk me into signing a tune, but the timing wasn't right. Nothing is more embarrassing then being the worst {undrunk} karaoke singer in the bar.  We did find an open table and play some pool. I feel pretty cool when I bend way down to shoot a shot {just like a professional pool player} and I miss.

Professional Pool Player: Jeanette Lee

19. Put together a puzzle: P-Wee and I started to put together a puzzle at least 4 months ago. We put together all of the easy parts and were left with the endless bookshelves. The puzzle set in our living room for multiple weeks. I didn't touch it and P-Wee wasn't interested in it. I moved the card table to the dining room when I started to decorate the living room. Then I got my dining room set and decided to pack up the puzzle.... unfinished. I took a picture of the pathetic puzzle, but I can't seem to find it. Any who, I am checking this one off my list.


Only 19 more to go.  
 

{30 Before Thirty} WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Now that I am officially 29, I think it's time to review my 30 Before Thirty List and try and figure what the hell I was thinking on some of these!!!

30 Before Thirty

01.  Finish wedding scrapbook: hmm not really sure if this is going to get done. I haven't been in the scrap booking mood in a long time. But it would be nice to have a book full of memories. I will have this done!

02.  Complete Rosetta Stone Spanish program: totally NOT going to happen. I have no reason to speak Spanish and so if I do learn it, it will never be used. Not to mention the program is crazy expensive!!  I am inserting a new to do that I have happened to complete: Score Jack Quinn 10 Run Shirt

03.  Compete in a race longer than a 5k: this will happen

04.  Make homemade noodles: I should make this for Thanksgiving. If I don't maybe for Christmas or Easter. This will happen. 

05.  Climb Pikes Peak or other 14teener: I really want to do this. It's going to have to involve some other people, so that might be tricky. But I will try my best!

06.  Take a family photo (Cheese)

07.  Start to furnish house (Furnishings)

08.  Aggressively fund retirement and savings accounts ($$)

 

09.  Go on 2 vacations not including Las Vegas: this is a little silly. P-Diddy and I have gone to Vegas twice this year and we go on a cruise in December. I am grateful we are able to go on even one vacation let alone three. I will consider this complete once we return from our cruise. 

 

10.  Get in the best shape of my life: working on it, but have a long way to go. Ass Kicker is doing his best to help me achieve this.

11.  Go snowboarding (Snowboarding)

 

12.  Sing Karaoke: I hate karaoke. Why did I choose this?? But I'll do it. 

 

13.  Attempt to surf: this is going to be hard to accomplish. I am hoping I can surf on one of the excursions during our cruise. 

14.  Dinner at the Penrose Room at The Broadmoor: love the Penrose Room! Can't wait to fulfill this one!

 

15.  Drinks at The Golden Bee: never been. Will probably wait until Baby Fetters is born so Josh and Ash can enjoy the bees with us.

16.  Get a tattoo: man I really want one.  But I'm chicken. It's a huge decision. I know what I want, but honestly it doesn't have a lot of meaning behind it.

 

17.  Do the stairs at Air Force Academy: will do this!

 

18.  Do something fun for 10 year reunion (10 Year Reunion)

 

19.  Put together a puzzle: this one is done, I just need to blog about it. 

20.  Spend a night in, drinking wine with The Hustler (Undeveloped Wino)

 

21.  Get a picture of Harley playing in the water at the lake (Harley Swimming)

22.  Take pictures of Grammie and Poppie (Grammie & Poppy)

 

23.  Host a dinner party: I finally got a china cabinet to hold all of my wedding china. This is going to happen soon!! 

24.  Get eyebrows waxed: I have a gift certificate from Ash, I just need to do it. 

25.  Play Wii Tennis  (Wii Madness)

 

26.  Recreate Boulder Creek trip with Ashley, Lindsey and Brea: decided to raft instead of tube this year. Next year I will make sure to tube down Boulder Creek! 

27.  BFF Night Out: waiting for Lil Fetters to be born. 

28.  Try rollers in hair: 1. I need some sort of special occasion 2. Need to buy rollers.

29.  Go to a bar specifically to play pool: I have really been wanting to go to CJ's and play pool wih Presto-Magic. Maybe this weekend?

30.  Create photo mural from Photocraft book: I am counting the gallery wall for this one. I just need black and white pictures to complete the gallery. 

 

I really only have 18 left and only 16 if you include the gallery wall and waxed eye brows. Wow, this post made me feel 100% better. I was starting to stress over this silly list. In all actuality it's not soo bad. Most of the tasks seem doable and fun. 

 

What I am  not looking forward to is finishing the scrapbook {sounds like a daunting task} and singing karaoke {way out of my comfort zone}.  

 

Other than that, they are all totally doable!!!  

No Halloween Candy Thursday

Wednesday nights are very special. For some ungodly reason I pay someone to torture me. Tonight was my 5th personal training session with Ass Kicker. Finally for the first time, I hit my groove! I was able to complete most of the exercises without needing a break. I felt confident and powerful. I've hit my stride!

Tonight's workout was based around the "Octane" elliptical. Craziest machine I have ever been on. I even did this move pictured below. We worked the entire body starting with arms all the way to legs.

I then met some friends for Zumba. Gotta get my groove on! I swear Ashley only comes to watch me make a complete fool of myself. It might be her favorite pass time.      

The best thing about tonight was my conversation with Ass Kicker and how I should be eating better if I am putting all my energy and time into working out. Turns out you have to eat healthy in order to see results. Who knew? Ass Kicker challenged me to lose 2lbs by next Wednesday. Game on!!! The goal is to stay away from starches and eat a ton of veges, fruit and lean protein. Sounds easy-peasy right...? Good think I also challenged my sister-from-the-same-mr to a water chug-a-lug marathon {drink at least 64oz of water} and zero tolerance for Halloween candy tomorrow. Talk about great timing!

Oh ya I almost forgot. I reached a running milestone. I am apart of the elite most popular running club ever- Jack Quinn's Running Club! Check out this hot picture of me receiving my 10 run shirt.

My lil sis is at 6 or 7 runs, Augusta is at 3 and Harley 2. We are a pretty big deal! Now's probably not the time to mention that a friend received her century shirt. She's probably a bigger deal!

Okay so where's to many, many trips to the bathroom and no Halloween candy Thursday!!!!  

Living Room Makeover

About a month ago we bought new couches {Harley thought the pillows on our old couches were his personal chew toy. Interesting to note that he doesn't even look twice at his old chew toy that is not located in the sitting room}. The new couches made for the perfect opportunity to redecorated the outdated, old ladyish looking room.

I knew I wanted a more stylish, cohesive room. After much thought {two seconds} I chose to decorate in navy blue, white and silver {stole this exact color combo from my sister}. Navy blue in anything is extremely hard to find! P-Dizzy and I started our search at Ikea. We found a great rug, pictures, blanket and standing lamp. Because our new couches have kick-outs we ditched the coffee table. We found the perfect end table at American Furniture Warehouse.

For about two weeks straight I did a lot of shopping at antique stores, Goodwill, Salvation Army, Ross, TJ Max, Wal-Mart, Target, World Market and garage sales.

I probably should have taken a before picture so you can really be impressed.

Pictures: Ikea

 

Lamp, blanket, pictures: Ikea; Pillow: Target; Couch: Lazey Boy

Rug: Ikea

Mantel

Close Up

Vase I had lying around: spray painted

Candle Holder spray painted: Goodwill; Candle spray painted

Head: Ross {I should probably know what "God" this is}

Owl: Antique Store

Candle Holder: World Market

New Plant

Vase: Ross

Crate to hold blankets and pillow: Ross

Candle holder I already had spray painted

Pot spray painted: Goodwill

Light house spray painted: Target; Random books: Salvation Ary

End Table: AFW; Plant Pot: Ross; Owl spray painted: World Market; spray painted candle

Spray painted owl

Spray painted bowl and balls I had lying around

Box and shoe box converted to movie/game holder: spray painted navy blue

{Project Runway} Spoiler Alert

I finally found some time to watch the season finale of Project Runway. Hands down this is my favorite TV show! I can't believe I just discovered it this year. I must have been living in a cave. Ladies, DVR, Netflix, download, buy... whatever you have to do get your hands on Project Runway. No matter if you like fashion or reality TV, you are going to love this show. Guaranteed!!! 

My all time favorite and beloved Anya won this season of Project Runway! I have loved her from the beginning. She is so equidistantly spoken, her accent is beautiful and her taste for fashion is right on. She is truly amazing.  

Anya with her final collection.

Anya

Project Runway is a reality show with designers who compete to make clothes based on a theme with limited time. The designers are then scored based on the models walking down the runway wearing their creations. Every week a designer is voted off until you have the winner. It can become pretty intense. It is truely amazing seeing what the designers come up with and how they construct it. It kinda makes me want to learn how to sew.

The show's main host is model Heidi Klum. The two other judges on the show are Nina Garcia and Michael Kors.  Tim Gunn monitors the challenges and keeps the designers on track.

Heidi Klum

Maria Clarie editor Nina Garcia

Michael Kors: most well known for his watches

Tim Gunn

TUMBLEWEEDS... in our backyard!?!?

Our backyard used to look AMAZING. We had some nice bushes, a path, grass, fenced in garden. Then we got Augusta. We couldn't keep up with the yard work or find the motivation to pick weeds every day {read we are not yard people}. Before we knew it Augusta had dug holes and the grass was dieing {we have crazy water restrictions with not joke fines}. I am telling you this so you don't judge me when you see the pictures below.

Our backyard was in some real need of special attention. Without realizing it, we hadn't picked up our yard in a long.long time. This is what I raked up Saturday.  You are seeing that right, the piles are mostly made up of huge ginormous tumbleweeds. How did we get tumble weeds in our backyard when we have a fence? I thought tumbleweeds only "grew" in the country! Wikipedia says tumbleweeds form in the desert. Yep our backyard is basically a desert so that makes sense. I am not kidding, we probably have 10 large trash bags full of backyard shiznaz. 

Pile 1

Pile 2

In our usual fashion, Preston and I put money on the line to motivate each other to pick up the backyard. Basically if you do not pick it up during your week you pay the other person $20 and it's your turn again. Bribing the other person to do your shift is totally legal!

Any ideas on what we should do with our backyard? We have 2 dogs that love to run and play and bark. We never spend time on the patio, but I am sure this is because we are looking at dirt. We also hope to rent this house out a couple years so we would like it to be easy for non motivated renters as well.

Preston is voting for fake grass.  I cringe inside.

This is what I imagine.

I just read that fake grass contains varying amounts of lead, which gives off a smell and is obviously extremely hazardous for you. It also gets hotter than regular grass and can be irritating to the skin. Okay, who in their right mind would put fake grass in their backyard?!? And how does fake grass work with dogs?? Thoughts? 

Shoes for Tomorrow... {TOMS}

 

Ash Canvas Classics

TOMS are by far the most comfortable shoes ever! It did take me a couple of days to get used to the feel. When I bought them I was told they stretch out due to being made out of canvas. I was talked into buying 1/2 size smaller than I usually wear. I was very nervous when I bought them. I was afraid I just purchased a pair of shoes I would never wear {you know what I'm talking about; we all have those "unwearable" shoes in our closets}. Thank you Zumiez sales chica, you obviously know what you are talking about. They fit great! 

If you haven't heard about TOMS they are a company that for every pair of TOM shoes you buy they donate a pair to a child in need. "One For One." Brilliant! And it's even more amazing that the company has taken off and become as popular as it has. As of September of 2010, TOMS has given over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in need around the world.      

Just as the Zumiez sales chica predicted, I will be back for a second pair. The $40-$60 price tag is worth the comfort and even more importantly the mission of the company. 

For more information on TOMS check out their website: http://www.toms.com/.

I Need Cesar Millan

We kennel our dogs when we leave. We used to let me roam the house until Harley tour up our couches. After coming home to couch pillow stuffing everywhere and pillows outside we decided to start kenneling the dogs when we left.

It was the best decision ever. It seemed like they enjoyed the kennel and ran right into it.

Last week I got a new dinning room set from Craig's List {more on this later}. As a result, we moved the dog kennels downstairs. Today Preston came home from a trip to Pueblo {he works from home} and found Augusta waiting for him on the stars. Odd he thought as he knew he put both dogs in their kennels. He went downstairs to let Harley out and found that Augusta chewed her way out of her hard plastic kennel.

August's Kennel- lots of blood

Blood everywhere

How the hell does a dog chew themselves free from a kennel? What made her do this? Now what do we do? There was a lot of blood from her mouth. We can't let her chew her way out of another kennel. Any ideas/suggestions? Maybe Cesar Millan will read this and come to the rescue. Our thought process right now is to let Augusta roam the house {she has only chewed out of a dog kennel and fence} and keep Harley in the kennel. Will Harley become jealous? Please help!! We need ideas. Do you think she chewed out because we took the kennels downstairs?   

Photo Booth Fun!

We went to a wedding this past weekend. The Bride and Groom had a photo booth at the reception. What a great idea! If I had to do my wedding all over again, I would most defiantly have a photo booth. Most.Fun.Ever! Check out these crazy pictures! Some are so chaotic because you only have 5 quick seconds between each shot. Most fun I have had in a long time!!