I am so excited that today is Friday, May 11th! My mom is coming to visit this weekend, which is always wonderful, but it is extra special since it's Mother's Day weekend. We have a weekend full of fun activities planned, things we hope she enjoys.
My mother's visits aren't stressful but very relaxed and fun. Mom doesn't judge the state of my house (I do a quick straightening beforehand, of course), my decoration, my cooking, my relationship with Steve, or anything else. She comes ready to have a good time, and we do our best to help her accomplish this and to make sure she feels at home. Her visits are my favorite because seeing us isn't her secondary purpose - she isn't here to go shopping or see a doctor or any other reason - the main reason she's here is to visit her daughter and son-in-law. It makes me feel special and very loved. (For the record, I love visits from people even if we're not the primary reason for the visit. So, come visit me even if you have another reason for doing so!)
My relationship with my mom has grown a lot as I've matured and become smarter. I appreciate our similarities and differences and am really, really thankful to be able to talk to her about my life without worrying too much about how that's going to affect our relationship. I know that she doesn't always agree with choices I make, but I know without a doubt that she will always love me.
Mom deserves a lot of the credit for me turning out as good as I have (however good that is). She instilled in me a sense of cleanliness and taught me the skills to obtain that state. Growing up, my brothers and I always had chores; we had a chore or two that had to be done after school before we could go out and play with friends AND we spent a good couple hours or so every Saturday cleaning the house. At times, I had wished that she was like my friend's mom who never made her do anything, not even make her own bed! Now, though, I'm so grateful to have learned to appreciate having a clean house and the know-how to clean it well.
Mom was the disciplinarian in our home. When we broke a rule or did something that was unacceptable (more often than not we knew it wasn't a good thing to do), she didn't let it slide. I like that she wasn't obscure or surprising in her discipline. We always knew what was good and what wasn't. We also knew without a doubt that we'd get punished. Mom was consistent and very fair - we all had the same standards and were equally punished when we didn't obey. She taught that there are consequences to our actions - it was our
choice whether or not we did something and so we had to live with the
consequences. It's probably one of the best lessons a person could ever learn. Thank you, Mom!
My mom wasn't all work and no play, though. I have happy memories of playing with her. When I was a teenager, she and I would always be on a team against my dad and older brother when playing Pinochle. We'd cheat horrifically and still lose every time. It was so fun, though! We'd giggle about it and I loved the conspiratorial glint in her eyes when she'd use our prearranged signals. I remember how we'd all get giggling so hard before family prayer, Mom giggling right along with us. It would make my dad so upset that a few times he'd leave the room, which made us laugh harder.
My love of walking comes from my mom. Off and on while I was growing up, she'd take me walking with her in the evenings. She walked pretty fast, so I had to work hard to keep up with her, but it kept me in shape when I was already showing signs of a tendency towards chubbiness. And we would talk. Talk about our day, boys, dreams, plans, everything. I learned to be able to trust my mom during these walks. I've always been able to talk to her.
Faith, hope, belief in a loving Father in Heaven and Savior were taught in our home. We're not the most religious family in the world, but my mom instilled in us these traits. Although I haven't always been as obedient to my beliefs as I could have been, I have never once doubted the things she taught me. The foundation she laid for me is priceless. I know people who didn't have that and they miss it, whether they know it or not. Having experienced the death of loved ones, how blessed am I to know that I will see them someday! How blessed am I to know that I can be forgiven of my sins by a Father who loves me and wants me to be happy! Thank you, Mom, for giving me these and so many other lights of knowledge and hope.
Mom, I definitely don't tell you often enough how much I love you and how much I appreciate being your daughter. This blog doesn't even begin to express my feelings, but I hope you're able to see the top of the iceberg and realize how much more lies hidden underneath. I'm so glad I'll get to spend Mother's Day weekend with you. I love you!!
Happy Mother's Day, Everyone!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Cheerful Sitting Room
One of the things I liked about our current home when we were considering buying it was that it was move-in ready. The carpets were nice, the walls were an acceptable color (not white!), and everything else looked good. As we have lived here, though, I've grown to not appreciate the color of our sitting room walls. The color itself was nice, a warm chocolate brown, but not in such a small room with just one window.
The individual who spent the most time in there was Sadie. She has loved laying in there ever since last summer when she discovered the joys of having a ceiling fan. The second most frequent visitor of the room is my three year-old nephew who likes to play in there a) because of the foot rest (he likes to hide inside it) and 2) no one else goes in there so he has free reign.
The people who lived here before us hadn't just painted the walls chocolate brown, the ceiling had been painted the same color! It was a cave! Fortunately, there's pretty crown molding and faux trim that are white, which helped but not a lot. A few months ago, Steve painted the ceiling white for me. It helped...but not a lot.
A couple weeks ago, I sat in there (trying to make more use of the room) doing a puzzle. I kept looking around thinking that it was a good room but too dark and cave-like. I suddenly had an idea. I'd paint the room! I'm not going to school or working, so I have plenty of time to do fun projects. After about 2 milliseconds, I decided to paint the room yellow. I love yellow. It's so cheerful and welcoming. At first, I thought I'd paint it a very faint yellow - white almost, with just a hint of yellow. I wondered if a brighter yellow would clash with my very red couches. While looking at paint chips, though, I tended to go for the brighter yellows. I decided to go with the color I liked best and move the couches into the living room if they ended up clashing.
They don't. The colors look great together!
It took me three days of off and on painting and I was tired but proud when finished. I listened to the the horrible advice of the paint guy at Lowe's and didn't use a primer (what???) because he said the built-in primer in the paint we had bought would be sufficient and I'd only need one quote. What was he smoking? Luckily, I ignored both him and Steve and bought as much paint as I wanted, 3 gallons, instead of what they suggested, 2 gallons. Good thing because I ended up painting 3 coats in order to effectively hide the brown from under the yellow. (Seriously, covering a dark brown with a bright yellow and only needing one coat?? Why didn't I ignore him and use a primer??) Anyhoo, I figure that even had I used a primer, I would have probably painted two coats of yellow anyway, so I would have had to paint those walls 3 times either way. And it looks great. No harm no foul. And lesson learned, I know what I'm doing and shouldn't listen to the paint guy at Lowe's if I think he's wrong.
Sorry, I ranted there for a bit.
With new paint on the walls, I suggested getting rid of the horrible window treatment (sorry, forgot to take pictures) and Steve said okay. Throughout the process, whenever asked his opinion on anything, he said it was my room and I could do whatever I wanted with it. He'd help whenever I needed/wanted, but I got to decorate it however I wished. Yay! He took down the brown, dated, bamboo-esque wood blinds and I went shopping for something new, something simple. I bought the curtain rod at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the curtains at Target. They weren't what I was planning on - I wanted white curtains with red poppies or other flowers - but when I saw them I loved them! I knew they'd go wonderfully with the pillow cases my cousin made me and would tie in the candles on the fireplace mantle that my mom had gives us.
I love my new cheerful sitting room and sit in there every day now. The only thing it needs now is art on the walls and repainted ceiling fan blades (yellow, maybe black - opinions?). I already have a print that I love (the inspiration for the red couches) and just need to get it framed so it can go in there. It will be fun to look around for other pieces to add and to watch the sitting room truly become my room, my oasis.
Oh, and Sadie's. She still loves laying in there...even more so now that I'm in there, too!
The individual who spent the most time in there was Sadie. She has loved laying in there ever since last summer when she discovered the joys of having a ceiling fan. The second most frequent visitor of the room is my three year-old nephew who likes to play in there a) because of the foot rest (he likes to hide inside it) and 2) no one else goes in there so he has free reign.
The people who lived here before us hadn't just painted the walls chocolate brown, the ceiling had been painted the same color! It was a cave! Fortunately, there's pretty crown molding and faux trim that are white, which helped but not a lot. A few months ago, Steve painted the ceiling white for me. It helped...but not a lot.
 |
| I wish I had a picture with the furniture, but this is a good representation of the color. |
A couple weeks ago, I sat in there (trying to make more use of the room) doing a puzzle. I kept looking around thinking that it was a good room but too dark and cave-like. I suddenly had an idea. I'd paint the room! I'm not going to school or working, so I have plenty of time to do fun projects. After about 2 milliseconds, I decided to paint the room yellow. I love yellow. It's so cheerful and welcoming. At first, I thought I'd paint it a very faint yellow - white almost, with just a hint of yellow. I wondered if a brighter yellow would clash with my very red couches. While looking at paint chips, though, I tended to go for the brighter yellows. I decided to go with the color I liked best and move the couches into the living room if they ended up clashing.
They don't. The colors look great together!
It took me three days of off and on painting and I was tired but proud when finished. I listened to the the horrible advice of the paint guy at Lowe's and didn't use a primer (what???) because he said the built-in primer in the paint we had bought would be sufficient and I'd only need one quote. What was he smoking? Luckily, I ignored both him and Steve and bought as much paint as I wanted, 3 gallons, instead of what they suggested, 2 gallons. Good thing because I ended up painting 3 coats in order to effectively hide the brown from under the yellow. (Seriously, covering a dark brown with a bright yellow and only needing one coat?? Why didn't I ignore him and use a primer??) Anyhoo, I figure that even had I used a primer, I would have probably painted two coats of yellow anyway, so I would have had to paint those walls 3 times either way. And it looks great. No harm no foul. And lesson learned, I know what I'm doing and shouldn't listen to the paint guy at Lowe's if I think he's wrong.
Sorry, I ranted there for a bit.
 | |||
| Comparison shot - brown walls |
 |
| Comparison shot - yellow walls |
With new paint on the walls, I suggested getting rid of the horrible window treatment (sorry, forgot to take pictures) and Steve said okay. Throughout the process, whenever asked his opinion on anything, he said it was my room and I could do whatever I wanted with it. He'd help whenever I needed/wanted, but I got to decorate it however I wished. Yay! He took down the brown, dated, bamboo-esque wood blinds and I went shopping for something new, something simple. I bought the curtain rod at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the curtains at Target. They weren't what I was planning on - I wanted white curtains with red poppies or other flowers - but when I saw them I loved them! I knew they'd go wonderfully with the pillow cases my cousin made me and would tie in the candles on the fireplace mantle that my mom had gives us.
 |
| Shows the curtains and candles, but not what the color really looks like |
I love my new cheerful sitting room and sit in there every day now. The only thing it needs now is art on the walls and repainted ceiling fan blades (yellow, maybe black - opinions?). I already have a print that I love (the inspiration for the red couches) and just need to get it framed so it can go in there. It will be fun to look around for other pieces to add and to watch the sitting room truly become my room, my oasis.
Oh, and Sadie's. She still loves laying in there...even more so now that I'm in there, too!
 | ||
| I love this room!! |
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
April Updates
I had a good April. It's always such a lovely month. I enjoy watching the flowers pop through the earth and for color to be re-introduced into my world. I love the cessation (hopefully) of snow and enjoy the rain as long as there are a few days of sunshine in between storms. Even if it does snow, at least I know that it won't last long and the snow will melt quickly, if it sticks at all.
I didn't have the best of months as far as goals went, quite frankly, but I'm still pleased with how my month turned out. Here's the rundown:
School. Is over! My last day of classes was Thursday, April 12, since I only had Tuesday/Thursday classes. The final for my Auditing class was actually the weekend before that, so after class on the 12th I was done with that class. I took my remaining two finals on Friday the 13th (scary?!) so was completely done with school by 10:30 that morning. It felt great! It feels even better now that I know that I earned straight As for the semester. Woohoo! I worked 4 hours a day the following week with Friday the 20th being my last official day until Fall semester. I have agreed to work a few days here and there up until June to cover my coworker's vacation days, which will be nice. I'll get a little extra income, will get out of the house, and can read for 6 hours because I imagine it's going to be pretty slow. In other school news, I received a letter on April 30th announcing that I have been accepted into the Masters of Accounting program! I'm not overly surprised because I get good grades and had a good test score, but it's still nice to get the confirmation and can now move forward with registering for classes. Yay!
Summer Trip. We accomplished the two big things I wanted to get done with regards to our trip. We booked our shore excursions and we applied for passports. My passport didn't actually expire until next year, but with getting married, I needed to get it updated. Steve has never needed a passport, so he had to get a brand new one. We finally were able to get into the post office (by appointment only) and get everything turned in. I'm actually quite pleased with my passport picture. I figure that anything now would be tons better than my old one! I'm also really pleased about the shore excursions we have picked out. I really didn't want to sit in a tour bus/truck/train for hours on end to look at pretty scenery. That's all okay for a bit but gets old quickly. We're going to go on a zip line over a forest, go to a salmon bake, tour a salmon hatchery, river raft, and a couple other things I can't recall at the moment. It's a good mix of active and not-so-active. I'm really excited.
Journaling. Fell apart this month. I'm totally out of the habit. It's sad because there were a lot of things that I would have liked to record, silly things that don't mean a lot but that I'd like to remember. Like the time I was so tired and jokingly asked Steve to carry me into the bedroom. He picked me up and carried me all over the downstairs turning off lights, shutting blinds, locking doors before finally depositing me on the bed. It was so silly and fun and I was laughing the entire time. It's moments like this that I want to capture and that don't get captured if I don't write daily or close to it. So, I'm recommitting to this goal. Now that I'm not in school and not working, I may try switching the time I write to the mornings instead of at night. We'll see what works.
Exercise. I'm bummed that I didn't meet my goal of exercising 100 miles in April; however, I know I still exercised every day, sometimes twice a day or more, so it's not as bad as it could be. Seriously, having a dog and not having a yard is good for my health! That's why my mileage is down - I walked most of the month and only rode my bike a couple times. It was either too chilly to ride my outside bike or I ended up going for the evening stroll with Steve and Sadie instead of riding my inside bike. No matter, I know I got in a lot of exercise, so I'm okay. This month, I'm going to get back into a routine of riding my bike every morning. The past two weeks have been crazy (plumber, painting, etc) but starting tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike every week day. That should really help out my mileage numbers. AND I really enjoy it.
April exercise totals: 1775 minutes (29.5 hours), 82.5 miles - mostly walking
Second dog. Isn't going to happen. In a way, I'm disappointed because I was really excited about getting another greyhound. However, I'm very proud of myself for recognizing that I couldn't do it and accepting it instead of feeling guilty and doing it anyway. And being miserable. It was hard for me to admit that I wasn't happy with a second dog (it totally wasn't the dog, it was me), but now we know that two big dogs isn't a good idea for us. Other people do it easily, not me. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm really enjoying having Sadie and that's good enough.
Summer To-Do List. Since I'm not in school and not working, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish this summer. In April, I accomplished three things - I planted a garden (with Steve), put together a puzzle, and painted the sitting room. Technically, I didn't finish painting until today, but I started on April 30th, so I'm counting it for both months. :) Some of the items are really easy, quick things and others may take more time, but all of them are things I've wanted to do for a long time so am happy to have some time to work on them.
Other. We took a trip to Cedar City for Easter and had a great time seeing my family. Wish Jason would have been able to be there, though. I finally managed to hook up with my cousin, Cassie, and heard all about her trip to Peru. It's always fun to hang out with her. And, I heard wonderful news about one of my best friends getting engaged! I'm so excited for her!
The highlight of the month was my one-year anniversary of being married to my wonderful husband, Steve. In a way, I can't believe we've been married for a whole year. In a way, I can't believe that I haven't been married to him all my life. He's my best friend.
Yep. It was a good month. I love this time of year.
Hope everyone has a wonderful May!!
I didn't have the best of months as far as goals went, quite frankly, but I'm still pleased with how my month turned out. Here's the rundown:
School. Is over! My last day of classes was Thursday, April 12, since I only had Tuesday/Thursday classes. The final for my Auditing class was actually the weekend before that, so after class on the 12th I was done with that class. I took my remaining two finals on Friday the 13th (scary?!) so was completely done with school by 10:30 that morning. It felt great! It feels even better now that I know that I earned straight As for the semester. Woohoo! I worked 4 hours a day the following week with Friday the 20th being my last official day until Fall semester. I have agreed to work a few days here and there up until June to cover my coworker's vacation days, which will be nice. I'll get a little extra income, will get out of the house, and can read for 6 hours because I imagine it's going to be pretty slow. In other school news, I received a letter on April 30th announcing that I have been accepted into the Masters of Accounting program! I'm not overly surprised because I get good grades and had a good test score, but it's still nice to get the confirmation and can now move forward with registering for classes. Yay!
Summer Trip. We accomplished the two big things I wanted to get done with regards to our trip. We booked our shore excursions and we applied for passports. My passport didn't actually expire until next year, but with getting married, I needed to get it updated. Steve has never needed a passport, so he had to get a brand new one. We finally were able to get into the post office (by appointment only) and get everything turned in. I'm actually quite pleased with my passport picture. I figure that anything now would be tons better than my old one! I'm also really pleased about the shore excursions we have picked out. I really didn't want to sit in a tour bus/truck/train for hours on end to look at pretty scenery. That's all okay for a bit but gets old quickly. We're going to go on a zip line over a forest, go to a salmon bake, tour a salmon hatchery, river raft, and a couple other things I can't recall at the moment. It's a good mix of active and not-so-active. I'm really excited.
Journaling. Fell apart this month. I'm totally out of the habit. It's sad because there were a lot of things that I would have liked to record, silly things that don't mean a lot but that I'd like to remember. Like the time I was so tired and jokingly asked Steve to carry me into the bedroom. He picked me up and carried me all over the downstairs turning off lights, shutting blinds, locking doors before finally depositing me on the bed. It was so silly and fun and I was laughing the entire time. It's moments like this that I want to capture and that don't get captured if I don't write daily or close to it. So, I'm recommitting to this goal. Now that I'm not in school and not working, I may try switching the time I write to the mornings instead of at night. We'll see what works.
Exercise. I'm bummed that I didn't meet my goal of exercising 100 miles in April; however, I know I still exercised every day, sometimes twice a day or more, so it's not as bad as it could be. Seriously, having a dog and not having a yard is good for my health! That's why my mileage is down - I walked most of the month and only rode my bike a couple times. It was either too chilly to ride my outside bike or I ended up going for the evening stroll with Steve and Sadie instead of riding my inside bike. No matter, I know I got in a lot of exercise, so I'm okay. This month, I'm going to get back into a routine of riding my bike every morning. The past two weeks have been crazy (plumber, painting, etc) but starting tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike every week day. That should really help out my mileage numbers. AND I really enjoy it.
April exercise totals: 1775 minutes (29.5 hours), 82.5 miles - mostly walking
Second dog. Isn't going to happen. In a way, I'm disappointed because I was really excited about getting another greyhound. However, I'm very proud of myself for recognizing that I couldn't do it and accepting it instead of feeling guilty and doing it anyway. And being miserable. It was hard for me to admit that I wasn't happy with a second dog (it totally wasn't the dog, it was me), but now we know that two big dogs isn't a good idea for us. Other people do it easily, not me. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm really enjoying having Sadie and that's good enough.
Summer To-Do List. Since I'm not in school and not working, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish this summer. In April, I accomplished three things - I planted a garden (with Steve), put together a puzzle, and painted the sitting room. Technically, I didn't finish painting until today, but I started on April 30th, so I'm counting it for both months. :) Some of the items are really easy, quick things and others may take more time, but all of them are things I've wanted to do for a long time so am happy to have some time to work on them.
Other. We took a trip to Cedar City for Easter and had a great time seeing my family. Wish Jason would have been able to be there, though. I finally managed to hook up with my cousin, Cassie, and heard all about her trip to Peru. It's always fun to hang out with her. And, I heard wonderful news about one of my best friends getting engaged! I'm so excited for her!
The highlight of the month was my one-year anniversary of being married to my wonderful husband, Steve. In a way, I can't believe we've been married for a whole year. In a way, I can't believe that I haven't been married to him all my life. He's my best friend.
Yep. It was a good month. I love this time of year.
Hope everyone has a wonderful May!!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Sadie Lou
Sadie Lou. Next month, we'll celebrate our one-year anniversary with our beloved greyhound. I hadn't planned on posting this until it was closer to the anniversary date and until I had taken some pictures to go with it, but tomorrow we're getting our new dog and I wanted to get my post about Sadie done first. And, quite frankly, if I waited 'til I had pictures, this post might never happen!
It's been a hoot having Sadie as our pet and seeing her change throughout the year. When she first came to us, she was very timid and mellow. She followed me around everywhere, driving me nuts honestly. If I got up to get a snack, she got up with me. I couldn't go anywhere without my little shadow, that is, until Steve got home. She quickly figured out who she loved most - the tall man who gave her lots of treats and spoiled her. She actually took awhile to figure out what treats were. She went right to the peanut butter-filled Kong, but when we offered her a dog biscuit she'd sniff it and walk away. It wasn't until after a visit to the vet's office and he gave her meaty, soft treats that we figured out that those were what to get for her. After she got used to those, we were able to re-introduce the hard dog biscuits and she gobbled them up joyfully. Now, she'll eat practically anything we give her (we don't give her human food except as a very rare treat).
It was good to have figured out what kind of treats to give her because we were finally able to help her know her new name. We'd had a hard time getting her to realize that we were talking to her when we called "Sadie!" One day at the farmer's market, we ran into a woman with two greyhounds who taught us how to teach her her name, but it entailed using a lot of treats. So we stocked up and did what she had told us and it worked! While I watched tv during the day, at every commercial I'd call Sadie's name. If she came, she'd get a couple bacon flavored treats. Every so often, I wouldn't give her treats when she came, just lots of loving. Within a couple days she was coming when she heard her name even if there wasn't the possibility of getting food.
Teaching her to recognize her name by using food inspired me to start teaching her a "trick". We'd been told that greyhounds didn't like to sit, so I decided to try to get her to lay down on command. I waited until she was really comfortable with her name and would come every time, without food. Then I started having her come to me. I had food in my hands and would let her smell the treat but not eat it. I'd knock the floor with my treat-filled hand and say "Down". Her nose would follow my hand and eventually the rest of her body would too. When she was down, I'd repeat the word and give her the treat. I was surprised that within two days she was doing it easily every time I said "Down". Again, I wouldn't always do the trick with food in my hand but would lavish her with praise and love each time. Nowadays, she'll go down without food, we just say "Down" and tap the floor.
Steve loved that I was teaching her this trick and wanted to take it further. Doing the same thing I had down with "Down", he taught her to sit. Who said greyhounds won't sit? She loves it! Oh, and she totally knows it's what she has to do before we give her any sort of treat. So, when she wants to eat something, she sits. One day, we were grilling steaks outside. She'd been sniffing around the grill and obviously was interested in what was going on. When Steve put the steaks on a plate and turned to carry them inside. Sadie ran in front of him, turned, sat down, and looked up at him with an expression on her face that seemed to say, "Look at how obedient I am, I'm sitting! Now, please give me some steak!"
Now that she has "Sit" and "Down" more or less mastered (she sometimes chooses to pretend she doesn't know what we're talking about), I've started working on "Roll Over". It's a toughie. I'm starting with "Over" and having her just roll over on one side. I haven't been very consistent but last night when I tried it with her, she did it the first time. She's so smart. Once she's really good at "Over", I'll work on the "Roll". I imagine it's going to be pretty humorous. *smile*
As the months have passed, we have gotten to see new sides of our Sadie's personality. She's definitely not shy and mellow, at least not as mellow as she was. She's still lazy, which is great, but she loves being active and playing, at least until she gets tired (5 - 10 minutes top). It took us quite a few months to get her to play with us. Taking her to the dog park was really helpful as she learned from the other dogs that balls were fun to play with. Now she loves to play catch with a tennis ball, play tug-o-war with the rope, and her special favorites are the toy ferrets and foxes with the squeekies at the tail and head. She totally spazzes when we bring out one of those.
She loves people, especially kids. When we take her walking and she sees a person walking towards us, Sadie's tail starts wagging slowly at first then increases in speed as the person gets closer. By the time they are by us, her tail is wagging so hard her whole back half is shaking. Also, her teeth start chattering. This only started in January and really took us by surprise. It's the cutest thing! She chatters anytime she's really excited about anything. Like seeing my mom. After Steve and myself, my mom is probably Sadie's next favorite person in the world. She also has a special attachment to my nephew and niece. They stayed with us last summer for a week, shortly after we got Sadie. Poor Sadie was really depressed for a day or two after they left. I think she feels like they are a part of our pack and is happier than ants at a picnic when we're all reunited.
After months of taking her to the dog park, Sadie has finally accepted that the other dogs are worthy of her attention. We were told that greyhounds, having been raised solely around other greyhounds, didn't recognize other breeds as fellow dogs at first. For a long time, Sadie would completely ignore the other dogs at the dog park and go straight to the humans for what she deemed her rightful love and admiration. Eventually, though, she started playing with the dogs, too. She is especially interested in other black dogs. Sadie rarely barks (unless Steve is provoking her or I'm teasing her by not throwing her beloved ferret when she wants me to), but if she wants to play with a dog (especially a black one) and it isn't responding to her, she'll start barking at it, urging it to come run with her. She's become quite a friendly, outgoing animal.
Before we got Sadie, I was kind of nervous about getting a dog, especially a bigger dog. I knew it would change our lives and I sometimes panic when given too much time to think about changes. There have been some annoying moments in the past year (when she started eating our chair rail around the kitchen, etc.), but I wouldn't go back to our life without Sadie. She is part of our family, our pack. She has brought us a lot of joy and laughter, and when Steve was working late into the night or gone for work, she was such a comfort to have around. We became snuggle buddies. I love that dog.
Like last year, I'm kind of nervous about getting a second dog, but if he brings us even half the joy that Sadie does, he will be a great addition to our home. We found out yesterday that we'll get him tomorrow night! I'm excited and nervous but am really interested to see how Sadie handles the new addition. Fortunately, he's male, so it should help alleviate any dominance problems, and he's black - her favorite color! Yep, we're going to have two black greyhounds! I'll let you know how things are going once we've had him for a bit.
Wish us luck!
It's been a hoot having Sadie as our pet and seeing her change throughout the year. When she first came to us, she was very timid and mellow. She followed me around everywhere, driving me nuts honestly. If I got up to get a snack, she got up with me. I couldn't go anywhere without my little shadow, that is, until Steve got home. She quickly figured out who she loved most - the tall man who gave her lots of treats and spoiled her. She actually took awhile to figure out what treats were. She went right to the peanut butter-filled Kong, but when we offered her a dog biscuit she'd sniff it and walk away. It wasn't until after a visit to the vet's office and he gave her meaty, soft treats that we figured out that those were what to get for her. After she got used to those, we were able to re-introduce the hard dog biscuits and she gobbled them up joyfully. Now, she'll eat practically anything we give her (we don't give her human food except as a very rare treat).
It was good to have figured out what kind of treats to give her because we were finally able to help her know her new name. We'd had a hard time getting her to realize that we were talking to her when we called "Sadie!" One day at the farmer's market, we ran into a woman with two greyhounds who taught us how to teach her her name, but it entailed using a lot of treats. So we stocked up and did what she had told us and it worked! While I watched tv during the day, at every commercial I'd call Sadie's name. If she came, she'd get a couple bacon flavored treats. Every so often, I wouldn't give her treats when she came, just lots of loving. Within a couple days she was coming when she heard her name even if there wasn't the possibility of getting food.
Teaching her to recognize her name by using food inspired me to start teaching her a "trick". We'd been told that greyhounds didn't like to sit, so I decided to try to get her to lay down on command. I waited until she was really comfortable with her name and would come every time, without food. Then I started having her come to me. I had food in my hands and would let her smell the treat but not eat it. I'd knock the floor with my treat-filled hand and say "Down". Her nose would follow my hand and eventually the rest of her body would too. When she was down, I'd repeat the word and give her the treat. I was surprised that within two days she was doing it easily every time I said "Down". Again, I wouldn't always do the trick with food in my hand but would lavish her with praise and love each time. Nowadays, she'll go down without food, we just say "Down" and tap the floor.
Steve loved that I was teaching her this trick and wanted to take it further. Doing the same thing I had down with "Down", he taught her to sit. Who said greyhounds won't sit? She loves it! Oh, and she totally knows it's what she has to do before we give her any sort of treat. So, when she wants to eat something, she sits. One day, we were grilling steaks outside. She'd been sniffing around the grill and obviously was interested in what was going on. When Steve put the steaks on a plate and turned to carry them inside. Sadie ran in front of him, turned, sat down, and looked up at him with an expression on her face that seemed to say, "Look at how obedient I am, I'm sitting! Now, please give me some steak!"
Now that she has "Sit" and "Down" more or less mastered (she sometimes chooses to pretend she doesn't know what we're talking about), I've started working on "Roll Over". It's a toughie. I'm starting with "Over" and having her just roll over on one side. I haven't been very consistent but last night when I tried it with her, she did it the first time. She's so smart. Once she's really good at "Over", I'll work on the "Roll". I imagine it's going to be pretty humorous. *smile*
As the months have passed, we have gotten to see new sides of our Sadie's personality. She's definitely not shy and mellow, at least not as mellow as she was. She's still lazy, which is great, but she loves being active and playing, at least until she gets tired (5 - 10 minutes top). It took us quite a few months to get her to play with us. Taking her to the dog park was really helpful as she learned from the other dogs that balls were fun to play with. Now she loves to play catch with a tennis ball, play tug-o-war with the rope, and her special favorites are the toy ferrets and foxes with the squeekies at the tail and head. She totally spazzes when we bring out one of those.
She loves people, especially kids. When we take her walking and she sees a person walking towards us, Sadie's tail starts wagging slowly at first then increases in speed as the person gets closer. By the time they are by us, her tail is wagging so hard her whole back half is shaking. Also, her teeth start chattering. This only started in January and really took us by surprise. It's the cutest thing! She chatters anytime she's really excited about anything. Like seeing my mom. After Steve and myself, my mom is probably Sadie's next favorite person in the world. She also has a special attachment to my nephew and niece. They stayed with us last summer for a week, shortly after we got Sadie. Poor Sadie was really depressed for a day or two after they left. I think she feels like they are a part of our pack and is happier than ants at a picnic when we're all reunited.
After months of taking her to the dog park, Sadie has finally accepted that the other dogs are worthy of her attention. We were told that greyhounds, having been raised solely around other greyhounds, didn't recognize other breeds as fellow dogs at first. For a long time, Sadie would completely ignore the other dogs at the dog park and go straight to the humans for what she deemed her rightful love and admiration. Eventually, though, she started playing with the dogs, too. She is especially interested in other black dogs. Sadie rarely barks (unless Steve is provoking her or I'm teasing her by not throwing her beloved ferret when she wants me to), but if she wants to play with a dog (especially a black one) and it isn't responding to her, she'll start barking at it, urging it to come run with her. She's become quite a friendly, outgoing animal.
Before we got Sadie, I was kind of nervous about getting a dog, especially a bigger dog. I knew it would change our lives and I sometimes panic when given too much time to think about changes. There have been some annoying moments in the past year (when she started eating our chair rail around the kitchen, etc.), but I wouldn't go back to our life without Sadie. She is part of our family, our pack. She has brought us a lot of joy and laughter, and when Steve was working late into the night or gone for work, she was such a comfort to have around. We became snuggle buddies. I love that dog.
Like last year, I'm kind of nervous about getting a second dog, but if he brings us even half the joy that Sadie does, he will be a great addition to our home. We found out yesterday that we'll get him tomorrow night! I'm excited and nervous but am really interested to see how Sadie handles the new addition. Fortunately, he's male, so it should help alleviate any dominance problems, and he's black - her favorite color! Yep, we're going to have two black greyhounds! I'll let you know how things are going once we've had him for a bit.
Wish us luck!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Shrinking Feet
Who knew that one of the results of losing 180 lbs would be smaller feet? Certainly not me.
I don't buy shoes very often; most of the shoes I own have resided in my closet for many years. I noticed that I had to tighten my Chaco's a little, but otherwise there didn't seem to be any difference in how my shoes fit. Oh except one relatively new, very darling pair that I gave away because they wouldn't stay on - I just thought I hadn't properly tried them on before buying them. Turns out, my feet had lost a lot of weight, too, I just hadn't realized it until a couple weeks ago.
Steve and I had eaten at a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake and decided to walk to the newly opened City Creek mall to check it out, since we were so close. As we walked around, I spotted a Clarks store. I used to give my mom a hard time about wearing Clarks shoes because they looked like grandma shoes, but she swore that they were so comfortable that it was worth their less than appealing looks. Well, lately, she's been showing me her new Clarks shoes and they have been really cute. I've been wanting good sandals that were cute and comfortable, so Clarks seemed like a good place to start. We went in to see if any caught my eye.
I found a really great-looking pair and wanted to try them on but had to wait a bit since the two employees were extremely busy helping other customers. While we waited, Steve and I played with the foot sizer. I hadn't seen one of those contraptions since I was a kid, so I felt like a nine-year old again as I fitted the sizers around my foot. Turns out that instead of being a size 9 like I expected, my feet are now size 7 1/2 to 8! I was surprised. Putting my faith in the sizer, those were the sizes I requested when approached by the salesman. The 7 1/2 were a tad small and they didn't have an 8 in-stock, but I ordered them to be delivered to my house after trying on a few other sandals in that size. That same weekend, I bought two other pairs of shoes - both in size 8s. They fit great!
Steve thinks it's funny that the big (to me) change in shoe size has affected me so much. I guess part of the reason is because I vaguely remember being a size 8 years and years ago, and it amazes me that I never really noticed that gradual enlargement of my feet as the rest of me grew bigger. I'm baffled that I could wear my size 9 shoes since losing weight and not notice how much they didn't fit. Today is the first time I wore one of my old shoes since buying my three size 8s. My feet are miserable; slipping and sliding all over the place as I walk.
I guess this means that this Fall I'll be buying new cold weather shoes! Woohoo!
Three and a half years after my surgery and almost 2 years since reaching my target weight, and I'm still having little moments of "Wow!" about my new body. They are so nice to have and really help keep me motivated to maintain my current weight.
Again, who knew that feet lose weight too?
Weird. But cool.
I don't buy shoes very often; most of the shoes I own have resided in my closet for many years. I noticed that I had to tighten my Chaco's a little, but otherwise there didn't seem to be any difference in how my shoes fit. Oh except one relatively new, very darling pair that I gave away because they wouldn't stay on - I just thought I hadn't properly tried them on before buying them. Turns out, my feet had lost a lot of weight, too, I just hadn't realized it until a couple weeks ago.
Steve and I had eaten at a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake and decided to walk to the newly opened City Creek mall to check it out, since we were so close. As we walked around, I spotted a Clarks store. I used to give my mom a hard time about wearing Clarks shoes because they looked like grandma shoes, but she swore that they were so comfortable that it was worth their less than appealing looks. Well, lately, she's been showing me her new Clarks shoes and they have been really cute. I've been wanting good sandals that were cute and comfortable, so Clarks seemed like a good place to start. We went in to see if any caught my eye.
I found a really great-looking pair and wanted to try them on but had to wait a bit since the two employees were extremely busy helping other customers. While we waited, Steve and I played with the foot sizer. I hadn't seen one of those contraptions since I was a kid, so I felt like a nine-year old again as I fitted the sizers around my foot. Turns out that instead of being a size 9 like I expected, my feet are now size 7 1/2 to 8! I was surprised. Putting my faith in the sizer, those were the sizes I requested when approached by the salesman. The 7 1/2 were a tad small and they didn't have an 8 in-stock, but I ordered them to be delivered to my house after trying on a few other sandals in that size. That same weekend, I bought two other pairs of shoes - both in size 8s. They fit great!
Steve thinks it's funny that the big (to me) change in shoe size has affected me so much. I guess part of the reason is because I vaguely remember being a size 8 years and years ago, and it amazes me that I never really noticed that gradual enlargement of my feet as the rest of me grew bigger. I'm baffled that I could wear my size 9 shoes since losing weight and not notice how much they didn't fit. Today is the first time I wore one of my old shoes since buying my three size 8s. My feet are miserable; slipping and sliding all over the place as I walk.
I guess this means that this Fall I'll be buying new cold weather shoes! Woohoo!
Three and a half years after my surgery and almost 2 years since reaching my target weight, and I'm still having little moments of "Wow!" about my new body. They are so nice to have and really help keep me motivated to maintain my current weight.
Again, who knew that feet lose weight too?
Weird. But cool.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
My Dress
Today I wore my wedding dress to school/work.
I love how I feel when I wear this dress. I feel very feminine in it, beautiful even. It gives me a smaller waist, accents my assets, hides my chubby knees (which I've become mildly focused on lately with short and skirt season), and shows off my slender calves and ankles. I've always had a thing for white eyelet fabric, so I burst through the ceiling when I saw the simple summer dress in white eyelet on the rack at JCPs last year. My cousin Cassie, who was helping me with my Spring shopping needs, teared up when I put it on. She knew what I knew as soon as I had seen it. This was going to be the dress in which I married my Steve.
And that is the real reason I love this dress. When I wear it, I feel the tangible reality of the love I have for my husband and the love he has for me. It's another reminder of the promises we made to each other a year ago this month. It brings a flood of memories of that wonderful morning; getting dressed before heading to the ceremony, stopping at the floral store to grab a single gerber daisy to act as my bouquet, looking into Steve's eyes as we said our vows, feeling like my heart was going to explode from happiness.
A year later and my life has lived up to the promises of that somewhat chilly April morning. Our love is evolving, growing. I'm often amazed by how comfortable I am with sharing my whole self with him. With that comfortableness there has come a wonderful sense of security and peace. I know that he loves me despite, or sometimes because of, the things that I perceive as weaknesses or flaws. And yet, I know there is still so much to discover about him and about us. It excites me to know I have a lifetime to spend with him and I know that anything that happens in this life will be better because he is by my side.
My wedding may not have been what I thought it would be (though it was what I had always wanted it to be), but my marriage has been better than I could have ever imagined. I may not have the typical wedding dress, but I love that I can wear it again and again. I don't wear it so much that it has lost it's special-ness, but I am so happy that I can wear it on an ordinary day and feel the extraordinary feelings from that wonderful day almost one whole year ago.
I love how I feel when I wear this dress. I feel very feminine in it, beautiful even. It gives me a smaller waist, accents my assets, hides my chubby knees (which I've become mildly focused on lately with short and skirt season), and shows off my slender calves and ankles. I've always had a thing for white eyelet fabric, so I burst through the ceiling when I saw the simple summer dress in white eyelet on the rack at JCPs last year. My cousin Cassie, who was helping me with my Spring shopping needs, teared up when I put it on. She knew what I knew as soon as I had seen it. This was going to be the dress in which I married my Steve.
And that is the real reason I love this dress. When I wear it, I feel the tangible reality of the love I have for my husband and the love he has for me. It's another reminder of the promises we made to each other a year ago this month. It brings a flood of memories of that wonderful morning; getting dressed before heading to the ceremony, stopping at the floral store to grab a single gerber daisy to act as my bouquet, looking into Steve's eyes as we said our vows, feeling like my heart was going to explode from happiness.
A year later and my life has lived up to the promises of that somewhat chilly April morning. Our love is evolving, growing. I'm often amazed by how comfortable I am with sharing my whole self with him. With that comfortableness there has come a wonderful sense of security and peace. I know that he loves me despite, or sometimes because of, the things that I perceive as weaknesses or flaws. And yet, I know there is still so much to discover about him and about us. It excites me to know I have a lifetime to spend with him and I know that anything that happens in this life will be better because he is by my side.
My wedding may not have been what I thought it would be (though it was what I had always wanted it to be), but my marriage has been better than I could have ever imagined. I may not have the typical wedding dress, but I love that I can wear it again and again. I don't wear it so much that it has lost it's special-ness, but I am so happy that I can wear it on an ordinary day and feel the extraordinary feelings from that wonderful day almost one whole year ago.
Monday, April 02, 2012
March Updates
Another month has passed along. Was it just me or did March fly by? The days sometimes seemed to drag into eternity (especially during some classes) but the weeks sped by at lightspeed. Now it's April and March is such a blur that I can't really remember what happened a few weeks ago. If I remember correctly, I had a pretty good month, all in all.
School. School was crazy this month. Both of my in-class professors (Jim and Sandy) are retiring at the end of this semester and Jim is trunky to the extreme. It didn't help that Sandy (Jim's wife) is having health conditions that seem to be impairing her mental abilities and ended up being replaced for my class. They've both missed so many classes that we're behind terribly and schedules for both classes have been so messed up that it's been hard to know what needs to be done and by when. For me, this is the ultimate frustration, and I was feeling pretty stressed. Fortunately, last Thursday, both Jim and Sandy's replacement spelled out the last two weeks of classes, so I can plan my school work and get things done in a timely manner. My online class is all but over, thankfully. I'm weeks ahead of schedule and just need to turn in the assignments and take the final test. To top everything off, I spent the month studying for the GMAT, the entrance test for the Masters of Accounting program, and took it at the end of the month. I did okay and am relieved to have it behind me. This month, I'll focus on finishing the last two weeks of the semester and applying for the Master's program.
Summer Trip. We got a healthy tax return this year and have decided to apply it to our Alaskan cruise. So, we have it all paid off and now just need to prepare for the trip. This week, if I can remember, Steve and I are going to get passports. Mine doesn't expire until next year but I need to get it renewed now because of my name change. Steve doesn't have one. I'm not really sure we'll need passports but we are docking in Canada at least once, so it wouldn't hurt to have them. Plus, they're good for 10 years and we hope to travel quite a bit, especially once I finish school. We also want to look at the port activities and choose one of two for each port and hopefully pre-purchase them (I didn't know we could do this but Steve says he saw it online). I'm really excited for the trip, it's our unofficial honeymoon.
Journaling. Took a big nose dive this month. I still wrote in my journal but nowhere near daily - more like once every few days. The problem has been reading vs. journaling. Reading won more times than not. It's not like they're mutually exclusive events; I could journal the day quickly then read for a little bit. Nope, when I reach for something to do before turning off my bedside lamp, lately it's been my Kindle. I plan on making a more concerted effort to journal daily again in April. Fingers crossed.
Exercise. The highlight of the month, for sure! March blessed me with several days warm enough for bike riding and I took full advantage of each opportunity. I've concluded that I'm not a runner. I don't mind jogging for a bit, but I'll never be a distance runner. By distance, I mean anything over a mile. Bike riding gives me all the pleasures I get from running (bodily exertion, wind in my fair, faster travel) and is more enjoyable to me. Between walking the dog and riding my bike whenever possible, I managed to accomplish my 100+ miles of exercise for the month and shed the pounds I gained from the holidays and having my band too loose. Yay! Once I'm finished with school, I plan on walking Sadie a little longer in the mornings and still going on a bike ride (or even two) every day. The afternoon walks will actually be shortened a bit because the dog doesn't do well in warm weather. She drags like Julie being taken away from the chocolate store.
March exercise totals: 1656 minutes (27.6 hours), 117.6 miles of walking and biking (both indoors and out)
Other. I spent some good times with family and friends this month. We took a nice trip to Cedar at the beginning of my Spring Break and I managed to have lunch with a few friends I hadn't seen in awhile. And then, last weekend I got to see another good friend and her boyfriend. Plus, we have friends who host dinner at their house every Monday for all their friends and we were able to attend a couple times. We're blessed with good people in our lives.
I chose to end the month, and get a jump on April Fool's Day, by spending too much time sitting in the sun sans sunblock Saturday, the 31st, and ended up getting a nasty sunburn on my arms, knees, and neck. I loved feeling the warmth of the sun's ray's on my almost-always-cold body so much that I totally forgot about the ill-effects of doing so unprotected. Turns out, we don't own any sunblock, so it's going on the top of my shopping list! Despite the sunburn, I had a marvelous last day of March; lots of time with Steve, baseball, shopping, and good food. If only every month could end so nicely.
Here's hoping for a wonderful April!
P.S. Did anyone do anything for April Fools Day? I didn't, sadly. I think I'm hanging up my hat on this one for awhile. Ran out of ideas. Maybe next year.
School. School was crazy this month. Both of my in-class professors (Jim and Sandy) are retiring at the end of this semester and Jim is trunky to the extreme. It didn't help that Sandy (Jim's wife) is having health conditions that seem to be impairing her mental abilities and ended up being replaced for my class. They've both missed so many classes that we're behind terribly and schedules for both classes have been so messed up that it's been hard to know what needs to be done and by when. For me, this is the ultimate frustration, and I was feeling pretty stressed. Fortunately, last Thursday, both Jim and Sandy's replacement spelled out the last two weeks of classes, so I can plan my school work and get things done in a timely manner. My online class is all but over, thankfully. I'm weeks ahead of schedule and just need to turn in the assignments and take the final test. To top everything off, I spent the month studying for the GMAT, the entrance test for the Masters of Accounting program, and took it at the end of the month. I did okay and am relieved to have it behind me. This month, I'll focus on finishing the last two weeks of the semester and applying for the Master's program.
Summer Trip. We got a healthy tax return this year and have decided to apply it to our Alaskan cruise. So, we have it all paid off and now just need to prepare for the trip. This week, if I can remember, Steve and I are going to get passports. Mine doesn't expire until next year but I need to get it renewed now because of my name change. Steve doesn't have one. I'm not really sure we'll need passports but we are docking in Canada at least once, so it wouldn't hurt to have them. Plus, they're good for 10 years and we hope to travel quite a bit, especially once I finish school. We also want to look at the port activities and choose one of two for each port and hopefully pre-purchase them (I didn't know we could do this but Steve says he saw it online). I'm really excited for the trip, it's our unofficial honeymoon.
Journaling. Took a big nose dive this month. I still wrote in my journal but nowhere near daily - more like once every few days. The problem has been reading vs. journaling. Reading won more times than not. It's not like they're mutually exclusive events; I could journal the day quickly then read for a little bit. Nope, when I reach for something to do before turning off my bedside lamp, lately it's been my Kindle. I plan on making a more concerted effort to journal daily again in April. Fingers crossed.
Exercise. The highlight of the month, for sure! March blessed me with several days warm enough for bike riding and I took full advantage of each opportunity. I've concluded that I'm not a runner. I don't mind jogging for a bit, but I'll never be a distance runner. By distance, I mean anything over a mile. Bike riding gives me all the pleasures I get from running (bodily exertion, wind in my fair, faster travel) and is more enjoyable to me. Between walking the dog and riding my bike whenever possible, I managed to accomplish my 100+ miles of exercise for the month and shed the pounds I gained from the holidays and having my band too loose. Yay! Once I'm finished with school, I plan on walking Sadie a little longer in the mornings and still going on a bike ride (or even two) every day. The afternoon walks will actually be shortened a bit because the dog doesn't do well in warm weather. She drags like Julie being taken away from the chocolate store.
March exercise totals: 1656 minutes (27.6 hours), 117.6 miles of walking and biking (both indoors and out)
Other. I spent some good times with family and friends this month. We took a nice trip to Cedar at the beginning of my Spring Break and I managed to have lunch with a few friends I hadn't seen in awhile. And then, last weekend I got to see another good friend and her boyfriend. Plus, we have friends who host dinner at their house every Monday for all their friends and we were able to attend a couple times. We're blessed with good people in our lives.
I chose to end the month, and get a jump on April Fool's Day, by spending too much time sitting in the sun sans sunblock Saturday, the 31st, and ended up getting a nasty sunburn on my arms, knees, and neck. I loved feeling the warmth of the sun's ray's on my almost-always-cold body so much that I totally forgot about the ill-effects of doing so unprotected. Turns out, we don't own any sunblock, so it's going on the top of my shopping list! Despite the sunburn, I had a marvelous last day of March; lots of time with Steve, baseball, shopping, and good food. If only every month could end so nicely.
Here's hoping for a wonderful April!
P.S. Did anyone do anything for April Fools Day? I didn't, sadly. I think I'm hanging up my hat on this one for awhile. Ran out of ideas. Maybe next year.
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