Well, I am always thinking about getting another puppy. We will be celebrating Lucy's 1st Birthday on April 6th...yes we're having a party. Complete with homemade dog treats, party guests, and some doggy themed human treats...it's mostly an excuse for Ivan & I to have people over for drinks, and then go out, but we'll call it Lucy's Birthday party!!
So like I said, I've been thinking about another dog since about a month after I got Lucy...but I've been patient, haven't got one. I keep checking the website where I got Lucy just to eye their pups and see what's available. I used to think I wanted a black one, so we'd have one white & one black. But when we go to the park and I see Lucy playing with the other white maltese & poodles, and maltipoos, I think, that is so cute! They look like little twins. Anyway, there are some white maltipoos on the site right now...they are 4 weeks old, by the time I got them they'd be too old. So I emailed the breeder to see what she's got coming up this year, and if it'd be possible to get the same parents. Bad news...Lucy's mom died a couple months ago. Her name was Whodeanie. I guess she died a few days after giving birth to a new litter. I'm wondering if her litters were just a little too close together and that's what happened. They say to keep an eye out for breeders who breed their dogs too much, without a break in between. She had almost a year, I did some research and they say at least a year is good...so almost. Whether it's too much or not, I'm not really that concerned by it, maybe I should be. Pound-puppy lovers would say I should not buy from this place, but I can't argue with the fact that I got a very healthy, very socialized, well taken care of, and I believe, well loved puppy :) That's good enough for me, and I think the breeder means well. Maybe I'm naive...oh well.
So, she does have a couple of litters coming up this year...who knows. Ivan's a little bit opposed to another dog...but he was opposed to Lucy and I know he wouldn't change that. My thing is, I can't decide if it's good for her or not. I think she'd truly enjoy the company, she loves playing with other dogs, nonstop if we're around them all day even. BUT, when we're all just laying around I think...will she miss having us all to herself? Will I miss it being just her? I'm guessing this is a little bit of what parents-to-be go through when deciding to expand their family? I dunno...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Hey
Hey all :) Not much going on, just thought I'd post. So let's see...the marathon is over and so I thought I'd be able to sleep more now but that hasn't been the case. I had a conference for work the first weekend after and I've been working quite a bit at my second job so I've been busier than ever. The second job is good. I'm getting the experience at least with the old folks, but at the same time I'm not learning a ton of necessary things I think, not enough to just walk in somewhere and know exactly what to do. I know enough to get by. For now, that's ok I guess.
For me regular job the next 2 weeks are going to be really busy with meetings and things and so I want to get through that as fast as possible, but also because after that it's spring break!! So I won't have to work, YAY! Plus, my parents are coming to visit, so that will be fun too. And Ivan's mom might come out for a weekend right after they leave so it'll be busy. Which will make time go by faster, which is cool because 1. then it will be summer!!! and 2. because we're coming home for the summer! Yes, my contract here is done on June 15th, so within a few days of that, we will be home until after Labor Day! I'm working on getting a job for at least part of the summer if not the whole thing. Hope that works out. Ivan's not sure what he's doing yet, he might go home to St. Louis for the summer or he might stay in Heyworth too, we dunno! Depends on if/where he can find a job too.
We've pretty much decided that we're moving to Phoenix in the fall. It was always between staying in California or moving to Phoenix. About 2 weeks ago I would have said I'm 90% sure we're staying in CA, but now I'm 90% sure we're moving... I just need a change. I still like CA, I just want to see something new and Phoenix supposedly has more money, bigger living space (yay) and it's still warm...ok it's hotttt! I've looked into the city a little and there's tons to do, lots of dog parks, our gym is there. I've loved living in Pasadena, having that downtown city-life experience. It's been fun, but it's not me. I'm so looking forward to a suburban feel again! Kinda funny.
Gotta go, Ivan just brought home Popeye's & I'm starving...by the way, if you've never had Popeye's it's the best fried chicken you will EVER eat. Guranteed.
For me regular job the next 2 weeks are going to be really busy with meetings and things and so I want to get through that as fast as possible, but also because after that it's spring break!! So I won't have to work, YAY! Plus, my parents are coming to visit, so that will be fun too. And Ivan's mom might come out for a weekend right after they leave so it'll be busy. Which will make time go by faster, which is cool because 1. then it will be summer!!! and 2. because we're coming home for the summer! Yes, my contract here is done on June 15th, so within a few days of that, we will be home until after Labor Day! I'm working on getting a job for at least part of the summer if not the whole thing. Hope that works out. Ivan's not sure what he's doing yet, he might go home to St. Louis for the summer or he might stay in Heyworth too, we dunno! Depends on if/where he can find a job too.
We've pretty much decided that we're moving to Phoenix in the fall. It was always between staying in California or moving to Phoenix. About 2 weeks ago I would have said I'm 90% sure we're staying in CA, but now I'm 90% sure we're moving... I just need a change. I still like CA, I just want to see something new and Phoenix supposedly has more money, bigger living space (yay) and it's still warm...ok it's hotttt! I've looked into the city a little and there's tons to do, lots of dog parks, our gym is there. I've loved living in Pasadena, having that downtown city-life experience. It's been fun, but it's not me. I'm so looking forward to a suburban feel again! Kinda funny.
Gotta go, Ivan just brought home Popeye's & I'm starving...by the way, if you've never had Popeye's it's the best fried chicken you will EVER eat. Guranteed.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Lucy Lou-Hoo
Just thought I'd post a couple of pics of Lucy. The first one is of Ivan & Lucy having a very serious conversation... and then the next one is from today, Lucy just got her bath & haircut.
And yeah, her full name is actually Lucy Lou the Maltipoo...but I like to call her Lucy Lou-Hoo.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Post-Marathon Blues :(
They said "you might be a little depressed during and after the marathon." I thought they were crazy...but just like usual, they were right. No I'm not sitting here with tears streaming into the keyboard, but you get this "now what?" feeling. Since late September we (my team) have spent our Saturdays together hanging out, getting to know each other, and every weekend pushing ourselves just a little bit farther than we thought possible. Throughout the week we'd have Wednesday night practices and emails galore from coaches & mentors. All you (I) think about is oh man, I can't wait until I can sleep in on Saturday, stop taking ice baths, and give my feet a break! Can't wait until I can stop asking people for money :) Ok...so now's that time? Why aren't we all shouting from the rooftops? 'Cause now we don't know what the hell to do with ourselves, at least I don't, and I know several other teammates shooting around the emails saying the same stuff.
I was telling my aunt and a friend of mine-- it is really nice to hear how people are proud, or can't believe you did it & all of those wonderful things because to be honest, you're not really thinking it. Only until I was in the marathon did I realize how much it wasn't even about the marathon. You feel like the real accomplishment was signing up, begging people for money (actually getting all the money!), raising awareness, making new friends, and just getting to the start line--nothing at all about the finish line! The job was already done! Not to mention, you already knew that quitting wasn't even an option...so why should finishing be a surprise or feel good? And for me...it wasn't that great. So let me take you through it-- you cross the finish line, you're immediately corralled to the side where they cut your timing chip off your shoe, keep walking to get a congrats and a medal thrown around your neck, and then what? If you're me, you stumble around downtown L.A. frustrated that you can't remember how many blocks away your hotel is, and talking to people on the phone but not really remembering what you had said! The finish line isn't this glorious moment of running through the tape with Chariots of Fire playing!! That's pretty much only for the first guy! hahaha Aside from the immediate 'then what', you have to think about --what am I going to do without these people? without Saturday mornings? without the encouraging emails? without the "I'm curing cancer"? without your coaches, teammates, mentors & survivors constantly telling you that you're a hero and such a wonderful person? (yeah, it's easy to get used to hearing that one all the time! haha)
They also tell you, once you do this you will start to get this "Wow, I can do anything attitude." And yeah you kinda do. Name it-- I'll probably say yeah, you could do that. All you really need is the want, and crazily enough, you'll do it. (I don't even like to run! Still don't guys. But I like to cross a finish line...uneventful as it is!)
So...you're asking, what is it that she wants to do now? Would she do this again? Yep. Team In Training trains people for endurance events...not just 1/2 and full marathons. We're talking Triathlons and Century Rides--riding a bike for 100 miles! For people who complete all three of these, you are a Triple Crown winner!
I'm shooting for the Triple Crown!! Stay tuned 'cause I'll need your help once again. The problem is that I have such loyalty to the marathon team, parts of me doesn't want to do TNT without them, but I'm sure I'll be back to it, maybe even before I move to the triathlon. In the meantime, while I recover, I might go out and cheer on the summer team and hand them their PB&J and gatorade.
I was telling my aunt and a friend of mine-- it is really nice to hear how people are proud, or can't believe you did it & all of those wonderful things because to be honest, you're not really thinking it. Only until I was in the marathon did I realize how much it wasn't even about the marathon. You feel like the real accomplishment was signing up, begging people for money (actually getting all the money!), raising awareness, making new friends, and just getting to the start line--nothing at all about the finish line! The job was already done! Not to mention, you already knew that quitting wasn't even an option...so why should finishing be a surprise or feel good? And for me...it wasn't that great. So let me take you through it-- you cross the finish line, you're immediately corralled to the side where they cut your timing chip off your shoe, keep walking to get a congrats and a medal thrown around your neck, and then what? If you're me, you stumble around downtown L.A. frustrated that you can't remember how many blocks away your hotel is, and talking to people on the phone but not really remembering what you had said! The finish line isn't this glorious moment of running through the tape with Chariots of Fire playing!! That's pretty much only for the first guy! hahaha Aside from the immediate 'then what', you have to think about --what am I going to do without these people? without Saturday mornings? without the encouraging emails? without the "I'm curing cancer"? without your coaches, teammates, mentors & survivors constantly telling you that you're a hero and such a wonderful person? (yeah, it's easy to get used to hearing that one all the time! haha)
They also tell you, once you do this you will start to get this "Wow, I can do anything attitude." And yeah you kinda do. Name it-- I'll probably say yeah, you could do that. All you really need is the want, and crazily enough, you'll do it. (I don't even like to run! Still don't guys. But I like to cross a finish line...uneventful as it is!)
So...you're asking, what is it that she wants to do now? Would she do this again? Yep. Team In Training trains people for endurance events...not just 1/2 and full marathons. We're talking Triathlons and Century Rides--riding a bike for 100 miles! For people who complete all three of these, you are a Triple Crown winner!
I'm shooting for the Triple Crown!! Stay tuned 'cause I'll need your help once again. The problem is that I have such loyalty to the marathon team, parts of me doesn't want to do TNT without them, but I'm sure I'll be back to it, maybe even before I move to the triathlon. In the meantime, while I recover, I might go out and cheer on the summer team and hand them their PB&J and gatorade.
Monday, March 05, 2007
L.A. Marathon finsher right here!
So, about the marathon. Let's start at the beginning. Saturday I checked into the hotel that TNT provides, we were on the 22nd floor, that alone was exciting, right in the middle of L.A. Plenty of pictures of that. That night we had a pasta party and one of my favorite people, Sara, came & I didn't know she was going to be there so that was like a major highlight & boost!
Sunday, we wake up at 4:00 a.m., get ready, go downstairs, take a bus to Universal Studio's and let the chaos begin. We go to the starting line...I can't even explain what this looks like. Just imagine blocks and blocks of streets filled with people. I hope someone has pictures of it. Music is playing, although I could barely hear it. I did hear for the first time "I Love L.A" which I put as my profile song so you can hear it and because I have a little L.A. pride right now because of the marathon.
We finally start moving, there were soldiers giving us all high-fives, which anything soldier-related makes me tear up for some reason. Anyway, it was steady uphillish for 1.5 miles, then downhill or flat for about 20 miles! (YAY) My teammate Rebekah and I were together for about 11 miles until she wanted to go faster, so I let her go because I thought I needed to save what I could for the second half you know? Well I don't know what would have been better--running fast in the beginning so you get done faster or going slow & kinda steady. Because by mile 15 it started getting rough. Oh-- around mile 11 the fat guy from Borat--his sidekick, was handing out the water, that's a highlight I guess! I would say 15, 16, 17 were really hard and I was alone. Well obviously there were thousands of people around me, but no teammates. Then out of nowhere, at 17ish, my teammate Billy came up behind me and we stuck together until mile 25. Lifesaver right there! Once you are out there for awhile you just go through all the emotions, you want to quit, you want to cry, it's crazy. At mile 18 & 19 there were more teammates who weren't running that day, just there to cheer us on. They stuck with us to the end!! You get to a point where you don't even want to talk to them, but you're so happy they are there. Around mile 20 I wasn't sure how my feet were still moving but they were, very slowly though! At mile 25 my wonderful teammate and another favorite person, Mari, showed up to cheer me on. I cried. It's so emotional and you're almost to the end and I was so happy to see her. Not to mention, I walked a lot faster once I got to her! So Mari got me from 25 to 26, then my coach came in at about 25.5 and kept me company until that .2 and then I finished!!! 8 1/2 hours later!!!! I finished 19,622 out of over 25,000 people. Which is kinda weird to think that I took 8.5 hours to finish and there were still like 6,000 people behind me!
Oh-- so the course started at Universal Studio's, went by the Hollywood Bowl, down Hollywood Blvd, through Hancock Park (rich folk sitting on their comfy lawn furniture watching you go by..jealous!), by the Colliseum, then some...not so nice neighborhoods...south centralish & East L.A., back across the bridge (where I literally felt like I was walking to my death...it was a low moment!), back to the tall buildings and that's where we stopped! There were bands along the way, tons of people cheering you on from their porches, handing out cookies, water & gatorade. Lots of ambulances flying by, firemen letting the hydrants spray into the streets, I think I may have seen someone have a heart attack...yeah so all exciting stuff!
Long ass day my friends! I have blisters, I have chafing in places I didn't know could chafe...I still can't figure it out, my face is so burnt I thought maybe I had some kind of sun posioning! My lips are chapped and I can no longer walk...I shuffle around. Although I do have to say that I have come a very long way. I remember the day of our 3 mile training in October...I literally laid on the couch for like 2 days and ached all over...and I can honestly say that I feel better after 26.2 than I did after 3 five months ago!
I talked to my veteran teammates about how it was for them and they all had a rough day. People were injured and had to walk most of it, and these are the ultra-prepared people. It was about 83 degrees which I think played a big part in everyone having a hard time- it was the 2nd hottest L.A. marathon in its' history. One teammate said if it had been her first marathon, she didn't know if she would've done another one...so I guess that's kinda good in a way, to know that future marathons could be easier, that it was hard for even the veterans.
So, thanks for the support! Pictures to come soon!
Sunday, we wake up at 4:00 a.m., get ready, go downstairs, take a bus to Universal Studio's and let the chaos begin. We go to the starting line...I can't even explain what this looks like. Just imagine blocks and blocks of streets filled with people. I hope someone has pictures of it. Music is playing, although I could barely hear it. I did hear for the first time "I Love L.A" which I put as my profile song so you can hear it and because I have a little L.A. pride right now because of the marathon.
We finally start moving, there were soldiers giving us all high-fives, which anything soldier-related makes me tear up for some reason. Anyway, it was steady uphillish for 1.5 miles, then downhill or flat for about 20 miles! (YAY) My teammate Rebekah and I were together for about 11 miles until she wanted to go faster, so I let her go because I thought I needed to save what I could for the second half you know? Well I don't know what would have been better--running fast in the beginning so you get done faster or going slow & kinda steady. Because by mile 15 it started getting rough. Oh-- around mile 11 the fat guy from Borat--his sidekick, was handing out the water, that's a highlight I guess! I would say 15, 16, 17 were really hard and I was alone. Well obviously there were thousands of people around me, but no teammates. Then out of nowhere, at 17ish, my teammate Billy came up behind me and we stuck together until mile 25. Lifesaver right there! Once you are out there for awhile you just go through all the emotions, you want to quit, you want to cry, it's crazy. At mile 18 & 19 there were more teammates who weren't running that day, just there to cheer us on. They stuck with us to the end!! You get to a point where you don't even want to talk to them, but you're so happy they are there. Around mile 20 I wasn't sure how my feet were still moving but they were, very slowly though! At mile 25 my wonderful teammate and another favorite person, Mari, showed up to cheer me on. I cried. It's so emotional and you're almost to the end and I was so happy to see her. Not to mention, I walked a lot faster once I got to her! So Mari got me from 25 to 26, then my coach came in at about 25.5 and kept me company until that .2 and then I finished!!! 8 1/2 hours later!!!! I finished 19,622 out of over 25,000 people. Which is kinda weird to think that I took 8.5 hours to finish and there were still like 6,000 people behind me!
Oh-- so the course started at Universal Studio's, went by the Hollywood Bowl, down Hollywood Blvd, through Hancock Park (rich folk sitting on their comfy lawn furniture watching you go by..jealous!), by the Colliseum, then some...not so nice neighborhoods...south centralish & East L.A., back across the bridge (where I literally felt like I was walking to my death...it was a low moment!), back to the tall buildings and that's where we stopped! There were bands along the way, tons of people cheering you on from their porches, handing out cookies, water & gatorade. Lots of ambulances flying by, firemen letting the hydrants spray into the streets, I think I may have seen someone have a heart attack...yeah so all exciting stuff!
Long ass day my friends! I have blisters, I have chafing in places I didn't know could chafe...I still can't figure it out, my face is so burnt I thought maybe I had some kind of sun posioning! My lips are chapped and I can no longer walk...I shuffle around. Although I do have to say that I have come a very long way. I remember the day of our 3 mile training in October...I literally laid on the couch for like 2 days and ached all over...and I can honestly say that I feel better after 26.2 than I did after 3 five months ago!
I talked to my veteran teammates about how it was for them and they all had a rough day. People were injured and had to walk most of it, and these are the ultra-prepared people. It was about 83 degrees which I think played a big part in everyone having a hard time- it was the 2nd hottest L.A. marathon in its' history. One teammate said if it had been her first marathon, she didn't know if she would've done another one...so I guess that's kinda good in a way, to know that future marathons could be easier, that it was hard for even the veterans.
So, thanks for the support! Pictures to come soon!
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