Doggie Regression {Around the House}...

I'm not sure if it's the cold, the left over snow or the lack of sunshine, but over the past two weeks my lovely little dog has regressed back to his stubborn, obstinate teenage phase. I completely understand his frustration with the snow as it has taken over every sidewalk in our neighborhood and has forced us to walk in the road with the salt and brine mix which hurts his feet. I also understand his frustration with the cold because I too feel angry when I have to put on 4 layers of clothes just to walk down the street to go get the mail. And, I completely understand his frustration with little or no sunshine for weeks on end. Franklin is a part beagle so he loves to lay in the warm sunshine while he naps the day away. 


But, for the past two week Franklin, who is 5, has decided that he is not going to listen to anything I say. Walks that use to be enjoyable are now full of me telling him to get out of the middle of the road or me saying "no, this way." Then when we get home he refuses to come inside and finally when he does he stands and stares at me for minutes on end with his super hateful "I'm mad at you" look. Trust me, when you see the look you know he's mad at you. 

This phase is definitely not as bad as the original teenage phase was, but I am ready for this regression to end. I am also hoping for more sunshine, warmer temperatures and Spring to come soon. Until then, Franklin and I will continue to go on walks and I will try to be more patient with him. 

Winter Olympics {Around the House} ...

The next two weeks will be a very exciting time around our house... it's Winter Olympics time. My husband loves the Olympics in general, but he is definitely more infatuated with the Winter version. I admit, I enjoy the Olympics too. I find it amazing that snowboarders can be as graceful as figure skaters - I've been snowboarding and trust me, I was not graceful - how hard on the knees the moguls must be and how devoted these athletes are to their sports even though they do not earn the multi-million dollar salaries that other athletes do.

Even as I watch these athletes in wonder, I am nowhere near the fan that my husband is. He was positively giddy as short-track Speed Skating started on Saturday night and last night as the American's raced in the finale of Snowboardcross he was yelling the play-by-play to me as I watched Franklin from our doorway as he went outside to go to the bathroom. Occasionally, Franklin will look at me in disgust as his Popi jumps off the couch and yells at the t.v.. I simply tell him that it's Olympics week and even though I don't think he really understands, he seems to accept that as a good answer and walks away. Happy Winter Olympics everyone!

Snow hibernation...

After the big snowstorm last weekend, the D.C. area was blanketed again last Monday with more snow. My house ended up with an additional 10 inches, which brought our total to... well.... a lot. With all the snow on the ground and the roads, Franklin, my husband and I went into hibernation mode. 

Very little was done around our house last week. We made dinner a few nights, but mostly ate leftovers and frozen pizza's, I think I vacuumed once and did the dishes once or twice. It was nice to have a week full of nothing to do and nowhere to go, but next time that we have 7 days together with nothing going on, I would like to go on a vacation to somewhere warm with frozen drinks instead of staying inside with three feet of snow outside.

Today, though, we decided to leave the house and rejoin civilization. The roads are decent around town, but it's iffy going into our neighborhood. Poor Franklin is still a little traumatized by the snow when it comes to going outside to go to the bathroom and I know he missed his dog walking pals this week. Hopefully, all of this beautiful snow will continue to melt and in it's place flowers will bloom. But, until then, it looks like we are going to get more snow in a few days. *Sigh*  

*These pictures were taken on a Winter day a few weeks ago when it was sunny and much warmer. 

Weekly Reflection...

This time last year, I had a job that kept me in a small room with three other people all day and usually part of the night. I was working 10-12 hour days everyday, and many time I would work the same schedule from home on the weekend. Not only did the work schedule stink, but I was basically the complaint department in my office. If someone didn't like something we did, they spoke with me. They would call me to yell at me and call me nasty names, or e-mail me and of course call me really nasty names, or sometimes they would send letters and yell at me and, again, call me nasty names.  


To put  it mildly, I was a sad girl who was losing faith in the human race.  Not only was my fellow man disappointing me, but I was willingly sacrificing everything wonderful in my life to prove to myself and everyone around me, that I could do it all. I wanted to prove that I was worth having this job and I was able to do the job of three people (before I got there, three people did my job). 


In many ways, I am a strong-willed person who doesn't really care what others think of me. However, this feeling goes away when it comes to proving myself needlessly. In many instances, mainly academic and work related situations, I feel like I have to prove that I am smart enough and good enough (I know, it sounds like a Stuart Smalley lead in) to be doing what I'm doing. But, as one of my colleagues told me before I left my job, this ends up undermining my ability to do my job and my lack of confidence and need to prove myself doesn't allow for growth and just ends up taking up my time.  


I tell you all of this because I have learned that sometimes what your are looking for isn't where you are looking for it or when you are looking for it. I have learned that sacrificing everything you love for a job that was killing your spirit, isn't ok.  But most of all, I have learned that the only approval I need is my own. 


On another note, I left my job last May and have been looking for another job off and on since then. My criteria for a job has changed and as my brother pointed out last weekend, I've become more picky. 

Weekly reflection...

Here we are at the end of another week. I hope it was a good one for you. Around here we are getting back to a sense of normalcy and continuing to put life back together. There are days where the past few months seem like a far away dream that never could've happened, and then there are days where you continually ask yourself if you did everything you could have. But, what I'm coming to realize is something I heard on a rerun of Scrubs last weekend (sometimes they have good philosophical moments). Anyway, what I'm learning is sometimes the bad guy is a disease that you were never going to beat. No matter how hard we fought for her or how hard she fought, my mother-in-law wasn't going to beat lung cancer. It was too far along and we weren't strong enough to beat it, but we all did the best we could.

Amazingly enough, life goes on and the days and weeks continue to speed by. As we close another busy week, I hope during these cold days of winter you are able to find some sunshine to enjoy and you are warm and cozy this weekend. I will be heading to Auburn, AL to spend time with my younger brother as we explore Auburn University. I'm super excited about it and will make sure to take lots of picture. Happy Friday everyone!

Appliance Lovin'...

Let me tell you about my favorite appliance at the moment. Actually, it's been my favorite since the day we bought it a year and a half ago. It's our Keurig, the coffee, tea, hot cocoa maker, or whatever other drink you want maker. Well, almost any other drink, I say almost because it doesn't do lattes, cappuccinos or things that involves milk, but it does make quick, good tasting coffee and tea.

The best part are the little K-cups. This is how you make coffee, tea or hot cocoa. You just open the top of the Keurig and put the K-cup in and hit the brew button, about 30 seconds later you have your hot drink and are ready to walk out the door. You don't have to mess with a filter or coffee grounds, the K-cup is self-contained, so the clean up is so easy. There are also tons of K-Cups out there and many coffee shops are coming out with their own. You can buy them where you buy the Keurig or there are many websites where K-cups are sold. I also love it because you can set it to turn on at a specific time and turn off after a designated time period.

The Keurig also lets you make the drink in a variety of sizes from small tea cups to large travel mugs, depending on what Keurig you have. The Keurigs come in a variety of sizes too. There is a new Mini, which is perfect for a single cup at a time, all the way to the Platinum which also makes cold beverages like lemonade or tea. I use my Keurig several times a day, especially in the winter and love, love, love it.

Thankful for...

Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. 

-Robert Green Ingersoll

It's been a while since I've posted and a lot has changed in my life. My family and I have lost an important member of our family, a main pillar really. And while we are still searching for meaning in all of this and trying to develop a new sense of normal, it's also still  important for all of us to remember what we are thankful for. Today, I am thankful for family. 

My husband and I have a great family who has pulled together to help us care for his Mom while she was battling Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer. With the help of hospice we were able to care for her at home and make her as comfortable as possible, but that didn't make the situation easier.  Since my mother-in-law passed away our family has remained strong and supportive of one another. 

As we prepare to travel home after the holidays, the memories I hope take with me from the past few months is how our families have supported us and when we were weak they were strong and vice versa. I also hope that we always remember that although this has been a difficult time, we are blessed to have one another.

My book-love...

"Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book." 

Stephan Mallarme, French poet, 1842-189

I love books, all types of books. I love walking into a bookstore or the public library and looking at books.  When I'm flipping through a book, I imagine all of the hard work, the worry, and the sleepless nights that each author put into each word and idea of a book.  I use to spend hours scouring the New York Times Bestsellers list and the Barnes & Noble Bestsellers list in search of my next great read.  I don't have the time now to hunt for my next book and I think this is actually a good thing because I think in my obsession to find great books, I missed a lot of really good books that would've meant a lot to me.  

   Last weekend, my favorite radio show, This American Life discussed "The Book that Changed My Life".  This program got me thinking about the books I've read and if any of them had changed my life.  I finally decided that there are a lot of books that have had an impact on my life.  But, I'm not sure if there is one that has drastically changed it. My current book-love is A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

I love this book because it is a heart-warming walk through the important moments in Molly's life as told through food. These are experiences that most of us have had (although I have yet to go to Paris) but what I really loved about the book was being able to catch a glimpse of another person's important moments. Also, Molly's descriptions of her father's love for Paris touched my heart and made me want to hop on a plane and go straight to a cafe for a pain au chocolat and a croissant. This book is warm and lovely and if you're looking for a book to snuggle up with at the end of a long day, this is your book.