Well, Hello There!

Ok, so this is just for those few readers that I have that check in....

I am going missing. HA!  No really, I don't think I will be posting for about a month.  I seriously need to concentrate my efforts on school right now because I have Senioritis like a mother!!!! Holy man!  I have two classes left and about 4 weeks left in each of those classes.  I have one huge research paper on "The Importance of Effective Listening as a Communication Tool" and then another final type paper for an elective class on the history of Search & Seizure Law.

Sounds fun, right?  I know. So, my usual habits of blogging and commenting here there and everywhere need to cease... And there is a ton of stuff that I want to write about (my trip to Chicago, the holidays!) but I will just have to postpone it.

So, as much as I hate to say it... See ya in a while! I will probably still sneak in blog reading on my phone here and there... so I hope to keep up with my favorites!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas (in case I don't get back in time) to everyone... enjoy your families and blessings this holiday season!

The Windy City.... Wasn't Very Windy!

It wasn't that windy... but it was cold! 21 degrees, to be exact, on the morning of the Hot Chocolate 5k!!!! Holy MAN!

I have a ton to write about:
Meeting the A Daily Dose of Davis family and extended family... FABULOUS!
My admiration of Jen...
My new BFF Addie!
Adventures in the city with my BFF Claire...
Garrett's gourmet popcorn... YUM!
The Sears Tower (I had to do it!)
Perspective and how mine has been adjusted...
Appreciation for my life and what it is right now... So often I find myself "wishing" for the future and I am so blessed for what my life is NOW....

However, I do not have the time to write about all of that now.  I just wanted to do a quick update to tell you all that the Chi was awesome and I can't wait to bring Brandon back and do all of the touristy stuff! :)  I haven't quite left yet... but I am supposed to be working on some homework that I failed to do this weekend before my flight leaves... ;)

Timing is everything, right?

I'm leaving for the weekend.  Well, that's what I told my husband over a month ago when I kept asking him (a million times) if he minded if a took a trip... I kind of have  way with words.  I suppose a Wednesday-Monday trip isn't really a "weekend" is it? Hmmm... Oh well! Thankfully, my husband rocks!  I have been lucky enough to have several girls weekends in the past couple of years! Yahoooo!  But, every time I go, I can't help but feel guilty.  I try to talk myself out of the guilt by saying that I better do this now, while I can... before we have kids.  I'm sure that it'll be much easier for him to do fun things when we have little kids than it will be for me.  It just kinda seems to work out that way for moms, I think.  Plus, he is flying to San Francisco for a Seahawk game with his dad and my BIL in December, that'll be fun for him!  See, I'm totally trying to validate my splurge...

Anyway, the reason why I feel so guilty is because our animals are kind of a handful.  I know I've told only half of my stories about Jackson, but you can tell that he's high maintenance.  And, I'll be the first to admit that I have fed into his high maintenance"ness" a bit as well.  We hardly ever leave him at home... partially because I was afraid for a long time of what "creativity" he would demonstrate in our house but also just because I felt bad! Then, over a year ago when we inherited Rainie (have I told that story?) I felt guilty about leaving her out in the kennel because she is sixteen freakin' years old and the cement is hard on her bones! The damned dog won't lay on any blankets or beds out there, either. Stubborn brat.  So, they go with is 80% of the time.  I have gotten better, that number used to be 95%!  Most of the time, when I'm with the kids during the day, the dogs can come with me no problem! Elaina LOOOVES Jack!  He doesn't really LOOOOVE her, but he tolerates her and is calm and patient with her, none-the-less!  The other times when we are at work or school, I leave them in the car.  I fold down the back seat of our SUV, make sure they have food/water and check on them every two hours! I mean, c'mon... that's got to be better than freezing their fur off in the kennel, right?!  People always roll their eyes or think I'm crazy about leaving them in the car... Whatev.  They're spoiled, I get it.
**Please note that I am very mindful of the heat in the summer! They are never left in a HOT or WARM car and they always have ventilation no matter what time of year it is!!!**

So, that brings me to why I feel guilty about leaving Brandon with them... he is going to have to leave them in their kennel quite a bit because he works at the family biz way more than I do and doesn't have the flexibility of letting them out every two hours, like I do.  Also, Rainie has potty problems. Yikes!  I think it's partly from her being sixteen (I mean, really!) and partly her just being stubborn.  But, she gets extra stubborn when I leave.  She also wakes up to go potty at least twice during the night, which Brandon rarely gets up to do. He claims he doesn't hear her? Hmmm! So, I know he'll have messes to clean up and I will get angry texts about my dog!!! Dangit!

To top it all off and to refer to my title... TIMING IS EVERYTHING!  Libby, our delightfully healthy cat was acting odd last week.  It seems like she was having a potty problem too! Yikes! She NEVER has had accidents and is always very routine in her daily activities.  So, I could tell something was wrong with her.  After a urinalysis we found out that she had/has an inflamed bladder, UTI and urine crystals!!! Oh my! Poor baby... she was hurtin'! So, she is on a course of anti-biotics to get twice a day as well as a special wet food diet that she needs to get another medicine with twice a day! Holy Cats!

So, the control freak in me will be calling/texting Brandon every day making sure that everything is in order... and the empathetic part of me will be feeling bad that I put all of this on him.  Ugh!!!

But, the good news?!  I am going to CHICAGO!!! Yesssireeebob! I am SO excited to make a trip to the midwest! Not only am I spending much needed quality time with BFF Claire, but I am getting to meet and stay with bloggy BFF Jen!!! I am so excited! :)  I get to hang out with her mom, Jan and her SIL Diana too!  I just know they're going to be a riot!  Oh, did I mention that Jen and I are running the Hot Chocolate 5k downtown Chicago! *insert nervous look!*  I am not able to run it all, but I think I will be ok to walk/jog it and I can't freaking wait! The forecast for that day is clear but cold and it is in Grand Park downtown!

Ok, well I'm glad I got that off of my chest, I really am feeling guilty! HA! I probably won't blog for a bit... Afterall, I will be gone for the "weekend."  But, I will be sure to post about everything when I get back!!! Yahooo!

Fall TV... So far!

I feel like I've been busier than normal this fall... I suppose that is true. Honestly, most of the time I feel like I'm drowning.  For instance, last night was the first night in a month that I spent two hours picking up shit clutter around the house.  Our house isn't DIRTY but it was mighty MESSY though!  Half of the clutter was shit stuff from the car that I took to have detailed a couple of weeks ago.  I took most of the junk out (or so I thought) before I dropped the car off... turns out the detailing place found THREE grocery bags worth of more crap! Ha!!! That kind of crap is just the "what do I do with this?" kind of stuff.  Think sunshades from when we lived in AZ, three pairs of sunglasses, multiple flashlights, cd cases, pens galore, etc. I was so surprised to see that much stuff! I didn't think the car was THAT bad! I digress...

Along with everything else, I've been behind on my fall tv shows.  I have always thought that Brandon and I watch too much tv, but after comparing us to some others... I realize that we really don't watch half as much as some people!  I record Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives of *whatever city*, Private Practice, Cougar Town and Oprah.  That seems like a lot, but I don't ever watch all of the Oprahs and Cougar Town & Desperate Housewives are shows I put on in the background when I'm doing dishes, folding laundry or blogging. Ha!  So, I really don't commit THAT much time each week to tv shows. Brandon records a number of shows but only seriously follows a few also. Even at that, our DVR has been FULL of my shows the past month or so! Brothers & Sisters is my favorite but Private Practice follows closely as my second fave.  I never watched Grey's... I just wasn't into it.  But, I love PP!  Brandon likes it too, so that's nice to watch together.  However, both of these shows make me bawl! Seriously, I cry like a damned baby while I watch these shows!

This whole post was supposed to be about the most recent episode of PP which shows Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland) being brutally attacked in her office.  Of course, the only show us teasers of the next episode but today I caught KaDee's interview with the ladies on The View and I am even more anxious to see Thursday's episode! It surely won't sit in my DVR long!

I thought it was interesting because KaDee was talking about how she is so proud of this story line because it is bringing attention to an issue that is very important.  I think the jist of what KaDee was trying to say is that she hopes that in seeing the story line that we're about to see Charlotte go through, victims of sexual crimes will find courage to tell their story or seek help.  I was very impressed with her interview.  However, I know that Thursday's episode will bring me to tears several times.

Just when I was pondering if Charlotte was becoming my favorite character on the show, the go and do this to her! I'm hoping to see her character develop a bit though and it is going to be interesting to see her in a more vulnerable place.  Charlotte is so HOT and I love the connection between her and Cooper... not to mention her sweet southern accent which is REAL! :)

My old stand by favorite, Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman)

is going through some interesting stuff on the show also.  But, I think for now Charlotte will step in for being my favorite... especially since my heart strings will be tugged by her emotional situation!  I will totally feel like I'm cheating on Amy though, I've loved her since I watched her in Judging Amy all the time! :)

Do you watch PP?  If you do, who is your favorite character?

Happy Halloweenies!

I was looking forward to being home this Halloween so I could see if we would actually get any kids! In my adult life, I have never passed out candy! Crazy! 

My change of plans wasn't so bad, though!!!  When my SIL asked me if I'd come over to hang out, eat pizza and pass out candy with her and Nickolai I jumped at the chance, DUH!  Turns out that both of the kids and their moms and my MIL all came over for the fun.  We took the kids out for a whole thirty minutes or so.  Now, I know what you're thinking... these kids are too young for candy! But, what else were they supposed to do in their cute costumes?  We really just went to show them off to all of the neighbors that were excited to see them!!! Ok, we totally ate their candy... I knew you were already judging! HA!

Elaina was a pretty good trick-or-treater... she was in good spirits and only had one meltdown! :)  I'm glad that these mommies let this auntie tag along because I love those kiddos!!!