Yoga and dogs

I have been feeling yuck lately. And I figure it is because I am not exercising, not even a little. One bike ride every 2 weeks is not exercise, it is a bike ride.
I have gained a little weight and I am pretty unhappy with it.
Today I started a whole body cleanse, and I still eat normally (although I need to try to eat healthier) but it helps me get rid of stored up yucky stuff in my body.
I am trying to get the willpower to start doing yoga when i get home, from my trusty DVD from back in college.

But tonight I just wanted to stretch. My abdomen is feeling tight, my legs heavy, my back sore.

I rolled out my mat on the floor in the kitchen so I could watch tv and stretch (lee is watching the basketball game in the living room.)

I will try my best to describe what happens when you try yoga with 2 curious pups.

You: Childs Pose (on your knees, but on your heels, hands out in front)
Dogs: Lick your face and play in your hair

You: Downward facing dog (bent over at an long angle, like a teepee...)
Dogs: Wrestle and play underneath you and lay down so when you move to the next pose, you have to shoo them

You: Cobra Pose (legs and pelvis flat on ground, arms straight pushing your torso straight up)
Dogs: lick your face and jump around on your legs


I am not sure how I will accomplish real yoga later on without locking the dogs out of the room, which is hard since there are not doors on the rooms that are big enough for yoga. They don't stay outside long enough for the whole DVD.

I will say... after my stretching and inadvertent playing with the dogs, I was relaxed!

my sig

Best wife e-v-e-r.

I was at Target, looking for a pitcher with a lid on it so I can start making iced coffee. I have been obsessed with it. You see, Lee was in that awesome conference all last week, and I didn't want to make coffee for one person, so I treated myself to Starbucks each day. It really wasn't that expensive because I don't get a fancy drink. I used to, but I discovered I enjoy actual coffee so I now get a Grande Misto with 2 splenda. (1/2 coffee, 1/2 steamed milk.) That runs me about $2.50, which is better than the $5 I spent on the flavorful, fattening, Grande White Mocha. With whip.

I walked into the 'bucks on Monday and was looking at the menu. It was hot outside. I wanted a change.
1 grande vanilla iced coffee please.

$2.30.

SO yummy.

I added a little 1/2 1/2 and a splenda and hoovered that thing in about 10 minutes in my car on the road to work.

The next day... I go back, but in the drive through.

1 VENTI vanilla iced coffee please, with 1 splenda and some cream.

The cream made my ass larger but man was it good.

And again, i hoovered it on the way to work and didn't stop talking for 15 minutes straight once I saw one of my unsuspecting coworkers. Poor thing.

Next day, I go inside, get the venti, and do the 1/2 1/2 thing because the cream they added was just to indulgent (It was aLOT)

Now, Lee is back home and I am addicted to the iced coffee. I can finish it before getting to work which is nice because normally, the coffee is too hot, i have to sip it, and then i generally get too busy at work and forget to finish it and that is a waste. (long sentence. see Poor Coworker above.)

I make the coffee at night, let it cool, and then put it in a pitcher in the fridge. Right now I have to put saran wrap on the top. This still leaves me making hot coffee for one in the mornings, but this just adds to the fact I am the best wife ever.
Want to see the list of reasons?

I:

• Cook every night
• Do 99% of the laundry
• Do 99% of the cleaning
• Feed the dogs 50% of the time (don't panic, keep reading)
• Check the mail
• Pay the bills
• Wash the sheets (i see that as separate from the laundry itself)
• and. Make Coffee each morning.

Lee:

• Takes out the trash
• Feeds the dogs the other 50% of the time

So. Today, while at Target looking for my Iced Coffee Pitcher, I was back in the media section with Kyla, who was purchasing Bride Wars. (it's cute!) I remembered Lee wanting this game. The one he played where I was sleeping with ear plugs.
So I bought it.He literally told me I am the best wife ever. I am enjoying the machine guns, grenades, and generally profanities from the back room. Enjoying a little Adele to drown it out.

Blogging alot.

I hope the Iced Coffee thing didn't seem too random. It brought me to Target, where I bought the game.
And I didn't even find the pitcher I went for.
And I took out the trash when I got home.
Dadgum.

Great Oak Tree Massacre

Sunday, after a long weekend of sitting around watching other people drink while not drinking all that much myself (other than Friday night), we get home with high hopes of doing NOTHING. Scavenging for food in the house, pajamas, sleep.

Instead, the Great Oak Tree Massacre (GOTM) was happening next door.

Most people on our street have the giant oak trees. Here is ours:
And during the hurricane, we were a smidge worried it would hurt our house and possibly our bodies, but we had just had it trimmed and it was fine. It dropped lots of leaves and twigs and such, but just fine.

The lady next door must have been way more afraid..

I get out of the car, holding Lola and my purse, and she comes running out. Lee says "what's going on?" and she says "After Ike, and just so scared. Can you move your car?"
Seriously? You really think another hurricane will hit Houston again this summer? The last one was 25 years ago.
So, where there used to be a nice, large, healthy tree with a fern planted at the base... is this...
If you look past this down the street, you see the other healthy, happy trees alive and well.

At least I can see my pretty pink inpatiens when I pull in the drive each day. They try to distract me from the GOTM.

Did I mention the 6 hours of chain-sawing we had to endure after we got home? And how we had to move our cars TWICE?

That lady owes me 6 hours of napping. Just saying.

Lemonade...

You know, when it comes to Lemons and life hurling them at you in rapid succession, I prefer to turn to Lemons's cousin. The Lime.

Then, I make margaritas, not lemonade (limeade?).

But, my friend Sabrina tagged me so I am going to work the awesome lemon's thrown at me this year.
I was given this little award by Sabrina whom I worked with at the Bank. Sabrina was the only reason I didn't jump off the building from boredom. I read about 2 books a week on Ebooks.com at this job.

Anywhooo... Here are the rules on this here award...

1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude (I am lazy, I am only doing 5) <--- I'm with Sabrina and doing 5 because I don't know 10!

3. Link to your nominees within your post

4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award

5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.

6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.

Here are my nominees:

1. Sara - who is going through the trials of starting her own AWESOME photography company.

2. Jennifer - who is going through the trials of loving food and wine, but not so much the effects it has on one's waistline. Although I think she is super cute... just saying.

3. Donald - who never has any trials. He just lives in a BUBBLE. A green irish bubble.

4. Sarah - who's blog entertains me immensely and just got a new job! Whooo!

5. Last but not least at all, Nienie. If you haven't met her and her blog and her family, do it now. I don't know her personally, but I want to drive to Utah and nurse her back to health NOW.

While I come off as largely sarcastic and like I could care less about what happens in the world, that is pretty much just my "I'm Brave" face. I can't say anything really hard has happened to me lately, but I have had a few things come up that challenged me. Kitchen, Hurricane, 2 family deaths that I missed the funerals of, an issue with a coworker... Each of these things taught me life lessons and I have moved on and upward.
With my blender and a margarita glass.

Birthday Boy!

Happy birthday, Teddy Bear, you are 2 years old today!
You started out a wee pup...And grew to be a very big boy! 30 pounds!I always love your goofy faces and your clumsy ways. I love you to pieces sweet boy!

Trying to feel justified...

This is not the first time I have had this thought, so I am thinking that means I need to act on it.
I have worried that Teddy/Lola could get lost some day (shudder at the thought!). I remember that the back gate was left open by contractors and they got as far as 2 houses down on the sidewalk before I found them. That happened twice.
So if they dug out of the yard, are staying with someone and get out of their yard, etc, I have to trust that the person who found them would call the number on the tag.
The next thought is - if they decided to be horrible people and keep them (i could cry right now thinking about this) - they would feed them Purina Chow and wonder why they are puking/pooping everywhere and maybe not take care of them.
So I have decided that I should get them each a second tag to put on their collars that says "Requires Special Food." That way, the horrible person would decide it is better to return them. I also put the vet's name/number on the tag, so at least they could be taken there as a last result.

My fellow pet owners what are your thoughts on this?

Sweet Face

Who could resist this face?That poor toy she has. That was Sheep. Sheep has been gutted and torn and flopped around. Lola has this habit of putting the toy in your face (much like this) and then staring at you (as you see) until you throw the toy. If you ignore her, she sits down on the floor and barks at you. But when you grab the toy, she grabs it too and makes you tug with her.
She did this for about 3 hours last night. I have the same arm as a major league baseball pitcher at this point.
Teddy, on the other hand, was happily chewing on a rawhide. I went to get a picture but he figured me out and moved.
That is totally NOT an ice cream bowl on the table. I swear.

These are my gorgeous flowers from Lee for our 4 year anniversary. That is my desk, which has been in various states of dishevel this week. See those M&M's? They are evil. And now that my coworkers have found out my extreme addiction when they are around, they are multiplying on my desk like bunnies.
Not that I complained much.

Today I played with the Dyson some more, even though Lee had to pause his video game multiple times while I took my time vacumming in front of the tv. That makes up for having to wear ear plugs to bed to drown out machine guns and such while I tried to sleep at midnight last night. When he came to bed and saw them he said "oh. that bad huh? Sorry..."
Take a wild guess what awesome noise is filling my house right now?

More cleaning to do, possibly bike ride, then an inventive trip to the store since I will be alone all week for dinner. I think I might try Central Market or the big HEB's "ready made" case of foods.

Getting lost..

Lately, my life has been a little hectic and unsettling. I guess I should say that the hectic is at home and the unsettling is at work.
Lately, I have focused all my literary time on vampires, murderers, and generally scary topics.

I decided that I needed to switch to something that would be a little more light-hearted. Something to lose myself in for a little while and get into a different state of mind.

Where did I turn to find this?

The man who knows true relaxation...

Buffett.

So when daily life brings me down, you will find me getting lost in Key West, Havana, and the Caribbean in general.
Drinking a Landshark or a margarita.

Important Competition

A few nights ago, Lola would not stop barking. Yipping may be a better word to use because she would just "BARK!" and then look at you. I could not figure out what she wanted. Finally, I observed the following situation.
So I figured out that she was barking at HIM and then looking at us like "Aren't you going to do anything about this?"

And people say we don't have kids.

D-I-V-I-N-E!

Yesterday was our 4th Wedding Anniversary and I have to say, with all honesty, it just keeps getting better with us. We are so happy together, we do everything together, we have similar interests, and just get along so well. We hardly fight, and if we do it is usually more like a bickering because something else is bothering us.

Anyway, Lee really pulled out all the stops this year! He ordered a dozen long stemmed red roses and they were delivered to my office in a gorgeous vase.

He made reservations and didn't tell me where! So I didn't know until we pulled into the parking lot. The funny thing is, it is right next to a jewelry store so I was thinking "um... " then I looked further and saw Perry's Steakhouse!!! We have never been there but heard wonderful things.

When we walked in, they were like "Happy Anniversary!" and then we are brought to our table (right next to the wine room so we could see all the wine, really cool) and there were rose petals on the table. Then our waiter comes up "Happy Anniversary!" and i was totally overwhelmed. I got all teared up and was so touched. It was just a wonderful experience all around.
They are famous for this huge pork chop, so that is what Lee ordered. I ordered Chateaubriand, which is a filet minon, sliced into 3 portions, with a sauce poured on each one. The sauce I liked the most was a truffle merlot. MMMMMMMM... Divine.
They then brought us a white chocolate cheesecake (on the house) for dessert.

All in all, this was just a wonderful experience. We will totally go back there, even for other occasions than anniversary. We were treated like royalty and loved every minute of it.

Another attempt to get a picture...

Construction is frustrating! Towards the end it feels like it will take forever before all the little stuff will finally be done!
Today I went back for a few more photos and was sad the big wall logo wasn't up. But my office will more than likely have the project professionally photographed, as well as the client. So eventually I will get my photos! I also do alot of work in this building so I will be back!

Here is the Reception Area - you will see why I wished the logo was on the wall...
I also took a photo of what the entry doors look like, right off the elevator. Apparently I can't hold a camera straight....I love that you can see the pendants and the red (this company's custom color) like "BAM!" Once the stainless logo is up it will be perfect. That is the photo I was hoping for today....
One more of the back open work area...Please ignore the little folding chairs. The rest of the furniture had not come in. See? The little things will KILL you!
I am proud of this project and the client is happy too.

Monday is...

Tequila shots with your best friend ....

Lilly vs. Lizard

The lizard won.

25 Things you may not know about me

I have slightly bowed legs, which I gained from my dad who has more than slightly bowed legs.

I think solid milk chocolate tastes like feet.

I always wanted to be a homicide detective. This explains the books I read and the shows I watch.

My self consciousness stems from ESMS. (Evil-Step-Mother-Syndrome)

I have only had a room-mate twice in my life. Both times failed, but not because of me.

I don't have any talents. I am just me.

I hate thong underwear and refuse to wear it.

I am the oldest cousin, but the shortest.

I am an only child.

I wish I had been a cheerleader in High School so I have watched Bring It On about 20 times.

I hurt my knee in gymnastics and now it tends to hurt before it rains.

I am from a small town but I love the city.

I have been to 8 Jimmy Buffett Concerts. I was 7 years old at my first one.

If you burn me {stab me in the back, etc), I will never forgive you.

I had Hepatitis (the kind from meat or water) in first grade and missed a month of school.

I am beginning to feel very materialistic from living in the city...

I have no sense of direction, but I can follow directions well.

I cheated on my ex to be with Lee.

I hate hard rock more than anything.

I wish I was a good gardener.

I was depressed my junior year and ate nothing but chocolate chip cookies (most of the time).

I don't want children, but Lee and I figure we will have one in about 5 years... we'll see.

I taught myself how to cook.

I just started drinking coffee a year ago. (real coffee)

I am a child of divorce and that made me grow up really fast. Too fast.

I have never water skiied but always wanted to.

Spring Cleaning

Today was a busy busy day.
I got up at 8 with Lee and worked from home for about an hour and 1/2. I am actually off today but there were a few things I needed to handle. Then I started cleaning.
Between 10 and 11 I did all the following things:

• Washed pots that were in the sink
• Loaded/ran both dishwasher drawers
• Used my dish sponge to wipe down all the counters and the table, and my butcher block
• Swept the floors
• Threw away old magazines in the living room
• Dusted the entire living room
• Swept the floors
• Wiped down the bathroom
• Swept the floor
• Sprayed the shower down
• Squirted the blue stuff in the toilet
• Dusted my desk in the Study
• Threw away erroneous papers

Then I took a shower and headed out with Jimmy to go shopping. First I had to drive clear across town to sign something at the bank since we have a new checking account (long story). Then we ate lunch and went to Target. The idea was to shop for baby gifts for our boss's shower on Monday. Jimmy was printing the list and I went to the restroom when who do we run into?? Our boss! It was funny trying to fill up our basket with stuff and she was right there with us! But we had a good time.
While I was there I fell in love...
With this....The Dyson All Floors DC-24. There is a DC-25 out now so that made this one $100 less.
So I get home and put it to use and nearly filled the canister! The little hose part is really cool and I was able to go over the loveseat that Lilly lays on all day, as well as get around the cat box and in other tough spots. I had already swept the majority of the house so seeing that much dirt made me realize how badly I needed a vacuum!
I also cleaned out my closet and moved my "winter" stuff to the other room. I had to resist the urge to pull the dyson back out and go over the floor in the closet!!!
All I have left is a pile of laundry to fold, sheets to put on the bed, and then I will have a clean house.

What. A. Day!

Finally!

Today I had a walkthrough one of my projects at work. I have been pretty excited about this project because it is really fun and I had 99% creative control over it. My boss and I collaborated on the layout of the space and then I took over on the finishes (carpet, paint, built-ins).
Now - this red is the signature color of the company - so please don't hate me if you hate the color!
First I want to say - this desk is not done. This was already there from the previous tenant (as well as those wood floors... bad color!). It will soon have stainless steel where the white is, black granite on the top, and the red color will be painted where you see that little strip of white. Also, they will incorporate their logo on the front too. It will be cool.
It was my idea to bring the red down those reveals in the walls. They were already there so I thought why not use it? We mimic'd the stripes on the opposite wall.This is a buffet type area towards the back of the office, for when food is catered in. When I walked up to the pendants, the bottom came to my forehead. Now, I am a shorty, so I looked at the contractor and said "these are a little low, eh?" So they will be higher. Don't worry, this is the only other place in the whole office with the red wall :).
And this is the Break Room. Yellow is another color they typically bring into the palette at other offices in the US. They also like grey, so I brought that in through the cabinetry. Only the back wall (next to the microwaves) was supossed to be yellow, but I really don't mind it!
This is not a finished office. More will be done over the next 2 days and we have what we call the Final Punch on Monday. Hopefully by then the signage is up (logo's on the wall and glass doors around the office) and I believe most of the desk will be complete. The stainless steel isn't in until Tuesday so I will have to run back over there maybe Friday next week and get one last photo. This company also always has thier offices photographed so I will try and get those as well. Also, all the furniture will be in. There are many many more rooms, but they were still full of box's and contractors...

This is my first completed project that I have been really proud of. I do alot of dr's offices and they are just so boring sometimes. I have a few other projects in the works that I will have to get photographs of, but they seem really far away.... And you know, the one I posted about a long time ago... none of the people had the courtesy to send me photos!

Lee is snoring on the sofa, I better go get him to bed. We are both off work tomorrow and I plan on attacking this house and getting it really clean. I will probably have a black trash bag with me and get some spring cleaning done.

Ladies, start your ovens!

Today, I started a new blog for just recipes and various food topics. I am going to attempt to post meals and recipes each day, based on what I prepared the night before for dinner... or if we go out I will try and snap a photo of our dinner (thank goodness for blackberry camera...) etc. This blog is devoted to my daily life, schnauzer activities, etc. I wanted one that was only food!!

Enjoy!

http://stickstoyourribs.blogspot.com/

Ordinary beginnings....

The other day, via facebook and in person, Tiffanie challenged me to start a cooking blog. When I say challenged, that is because I kept telling her no, and she told me enough times that I felt challenged.
At first I thought I should just post on this blog, and tag the entries for cooking... but the more I think about it, this blog is more about the Nash adventures, and I wouldn't want to only do recipe things on here.

So I ask, friends, random passerby's, what should I name the new blog?

I ask that it have a tropical / Buffett theme to help tie the 2 together.

I figure I will post each night after I cook dinner and devote this blog to being a "You - to - can cook dinner each night after work..." and hopefully inspire someone in someway.

Put down the frozen pizza. Back away slowly.