Interviewed by Kell...

Sorry, it took me so long to answer..

1. You’ve won a contest to go on your dream vacation. Where do you go?

I would go to Alaska. I have always wanted to go and see the mountains, the whales and go fishing! I’m not even sure why Alaska is that enticing to me, but it is. One day I will get there!

2. If you could take a potion to change one thing about you, what would you change?

My cynical side…I wish I could just squash it! I think that I get better everyday and I actively try and keep it in check, but sometimes it still gets away from me.

3. What was your favorite Halloween costume?

Don’t boo…but I have always disliked getting dressed up in costume. I think that I was excited about being Lemon Meringue (from the Strawberry Shortcake group) but I just remember the mask slipping all the time and then I couldn’t see out of the little eye holes and the plastic outfit/dress thing was too big so I kept tripping on it. L

4. Which reality show would you be on?

Again, don’t boo… but I don’t watch reality TV. But…if I could be on a TV show that is about real people and events, but not a contest, it would the dog whisperer. I have been to one of his seminars and I was able to talk to him for a little bit about my dog, but I would still love to meet him and spend more time learning from him, though he and I do disagree on some of his theories I still think he has a lot of good information to learn from.

5. You have a friend who’s thinking of adopting a rescue dog. What advice would you give her?

LOL!!! Probably more than she would ever want! I have a bad habit of spewing information/my opinions about dogs. But really to make sure that she picks the dog with both her brain and her heart, because there would be nothing worse than it not working out and having to send the dog back. It is so easy to get caught up in looks or the sad life it had, but sometimes people aren’t prepared and/or able to handle the baggage a dog can bring along.

Busy with Buddy

Well all within the same 48 hrs I was accepted as a volunteer with the American Brittany Rescue group and receive my first foster dog!
Buddy is 8 mos old and very sweet he was dropped off with another volunteer by his old family. They stated that he was scratching and nipping at their 4 children under the age of 7, they have 9 children total!
He’s a wonderful little guy, he does need some training, but all dogs do. He learns quickly and is very eager to please. He will make some family very happy!
He and Daisy are doing great together. He and Lily haven’t made fast friends and it’s not because he hasn’t tried!
If I could I would adopt him in a heartbeat. I have only had him since 1:00 PM yesterday, but already have fallen in love with the little guy. I know I will miss him when he leaves, but I can’t wait for him to find a forever family!!! All dogs deserve a good home with a family to love them.

Interviewed by Newt...

1. Your pup Daisy gets a friend - what do you choose?

That’s easy another Brittany, but this time it would be from the American Brittany Rescue group. I love Brittany’s their size, “normal” temperament, energy level and affection level, for me their the best dog. But they’re definitely not for everyone.

2. What designer would you want to be a runway model for?

That’s a tough question because I don’t have a favorite designer. So I will go with whoever is modeling petites. Being short isn’t bad, but trying to find clothes that fit can be a real stinker.

3. What would your ultimate car be?

Stupid answer, but honest answer, would be the same car I have right now, but new and I don’t mean a 2007 I really mean the car I have right now. The 2000 Grand Cherokee Limited. I love the size, color and interior. I love having a sunroof for the summer and the heated seats in the winter. In fact I would keep the same exterior and interior colors. The only thing I don’t like about my car is that I have 80K+ miles on it.

4. You could live inside one book - which one?

Clifford the Big Red Dog…that would rock!

5. Free day off from work - all expense paid - how do you spend it?

Springtime buying plants and planting flowers and then have family and friends over for a cheese and wine tasting party.

Summer enjoy reading a good book on the patio while Daisy plays in the kiddie pool then have family and friends over for beer and a BBQ.

Fall I would spend the day up North admiring the beautiful scenery on the North Shore

Winter…well I would just wait until spring to take my day off.

There’s just something about spring…

What a great weekend...Friday I had dinner with an old friend, K. K and I have known each other since the 7^th grade but actually started becoming friends in the 12^th grade. Basically we were college best friends. She and I can go forever without talking and then pick up where we left off as if a day had not passed by. Before Friday I hadn’t seen her since early November. Anywho, it was great getting together with her and catching up.

Saturday, started with a nice walk in the AM with Daisy and then I met up with Newt. We hung out for a while at her place, as I am trying to bribe Caleb and Lily into trusting me. Then we headed off for a fun day of shopping! Let me just say that thank god my dad was nice enough to take Daisy for the day as we were gone for over 8 hrs shopping! By the time I had picked up Daisy and gotten home it was 10 and I still hadn’t eaten, so I threw some burgers on the grill and ate dinner at 10:30. J I know that’s super late to eat, but a girl’s gotta eat (again)!

Sunday I went to parents to visit and we relaxed, drank wine and read our books. It was nice. The dogs played all day running around in the backyard.

Today, the weather was unbelievable! It actually hit 80+ degrees! Needless to say after work Daisy and I hit the park and I let her go in the lake for a little bit, there was still some ice on the lake so she could only wade, but by the time we got back to the car she was already dry!

SPRING

On Saturday Daisy and I went for a four mile walk and I loved it!!!! I know spring is full of mud puddles and there's still snow on the ground, but that doesn't bother me in spring. I love driving with my sunroof open, being able to open the windows in the house, turning off the heat and oddly enough I love the spring cleaning. There's just something about spring that changes the way things look.

WTF

I don’t get it! I was driving with my mom today and as we were waiting at a red light 3 boys all under the age of 15 (I would guess) started running across the hwy (A true Hwy w/a speed limit 50 MPH). They were crossing against the light. Two of the boys stopped and stood on the island to wait for the traffic and the third STROLLED into traffic. Then when cars slammed on their brakes to avoid hitting the kid he turned and gave the drivers the finger and continued to stand there, in the middle of the highway, giving various drivers the finger. My mom and I were both like WTF???? Then he finally crossed and was standing on the sidewalk waiting for his other two friends. Of course, he is staring into our car (two feet from my window) and throwing rocks in our direction to get a rise out o f us. Both of us refused to give him any reaction, which I believe disappointed him. I turned and looked at him and casually turned away as if I just looked at a pile of …on the side of the road. After looking directly at him without any emotion he stopped. This kid was just looking for a fight. When I was his age there was no way I would have attempted any such idiotic behavior, hell I don’t think that I knew anyone who would’ve behaved in this fashion back then. I guess I just wonder why is it the police are never around when you want them to be, because that would have been sweet had the kids been busted by them.

The Slump is Over!!!!!

The Perfect Weekend...

It started out with dinner with friends, L², L and her husband (also an L) just brought home the newest addition to their family, so I stopped over to visit after work and see the baby. It was a nice quiet evening.

Saturday started with a walk at the park, it was a beautiful morning, followed by a successful training session with Daisy at the vet clinic. Later that afternoon I met up with Newt at the conservatory and zoo. We had a great time! The weather was so warm I didn’t even need a jacket, the scenery was beautiful and the company was wonderful. I took a ton of pictures and was able to try out different features on my new camera.

Sunday I spent with my parents we just hung out around the house and relaxed. We had our first BBQ, yum… And to top it all off BB and I were able chat, via IM, twice this weekend!!! (We haven’t had an opportunity to IM in a long time)

Daisy, Lily and Gracie

I wanted to introduce Daisy, Lily and Gracie. The top picture is Daisy, she will be 3 this Spring. Lily, my cat, just turned 6 in February and Gracie, though she's my parents dog, I still spend a ton of time with her so I thought I would introduce her too, just turned 8 this month. These three are a very big part of my life, so there's a very strong possibility that I will be writing about them from time to time.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I will write about mine later, but just don't have a lot of time tonight.

What's going on????????

I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the time of year or something in the water, but it seems that the blues are going around. Maybe the blues isn’t the right name for it but it seems that a lot of people are out of sorts lately. I myself have been in a bad mood and it seems like it is getting worse. The thing is I couldn’t really say why I am. Today, I was in the worst mood that I’ve been in, in a long time. I had a very crap ass day today and to give you just a small taste of how stupid my day was; my car alarm started going off when I was leaving work and I couldn’t get it to shut for about 3 min! 3 min doesn’t sound like a long time, but it is when your car horn is going in a small parking garage. (That has never happened before!) But what really gets me is that I have no reason to be anything but happy! Things that are off are very small potatoes, so little that I rarely give them much thought, so it really frustrates me that I can’t get out of this funk. Well, I'm not going to carry on about this because I shouldn’t give into this anymore than I already have.

So I will finish with 3 good things that happened today...

1. Went shopping at Macy’s with a friend I haven’t seen in a couple weeks

2. My vacuum is working again, thanks to my dad who fixed it

3. And most important (though not really something that happened today) my family and friends are all healthy and doing well

How I came to my New Year's Resolution

It’s funny I never really thought about why I don’t travel, when people asked I just said I didn’t have anyone to go with and no one seemed to press the subject further. But when my BB (Big Brother) asked, this past December, I gave him the standard answer and instead of dropping the subject he asked “why can’t you go by yourself?” I told him it was a safety thing, which he countered that Tokyo is one of the safest cities in the world, far safer than the Twin Cities. That got me thinking I travel the TC all the time by myself and never really think about it.

I still think that it’s definitely more risky for women to travel alone than it is for men. But if I wait to meet someone, either a friend or that “special” guy to travel with, I think that all I may have to show for it is a lot of waiting. With my decision to travel alone it still won’t cover all of my destinations, because some places really wouldn’t be that safe after a certain hour, but I think there are enough destinations out there to keep me busy for a while.

If you’re wondering why I don’t travel with my friends, well all of my friends are married and some are starting families, so if they do travel generally it’s with their spouse and/or families. So, financially it just doesn’t work for them, which I absolutely understand. As far as traveling with my parents, which I used to do and enjoyed doing, we have special needs dogs that can’t be boarded, so if I do go out of town for a weekend up North (which I do a couple times a year) they take my dog and when they go on a vacation I take theirs. BTW: I don’t count going up North for a weekend as a true travel vacation. So, I am quite excited to start my new adventures! Now all I need is my passport (which I’m working on).

A little about BB….

I have always been the classic little sister who is in awe of her BB, even today I love hearing about his adventures. I say adventures because truly I have never met someone so bold in chasing their dreams. 4+ years ago he decided to move to Japan and about 2 wks after making that decision he sold/gave away all of his furniture etc packed a bag and flew to Japan. At the time he had nowhere to live and no job, but he had friends who lived there (he went to school there for 1 yr) and is fluent in speaking Japanese. Within the month he had a good job teaching English and an apartment near Ginza. He has traveled to Korea for a long weekend, gone all over Japan, climbed Mt Fuji and so on. At the school where he teaches he’s had the opportunity to meet and befriend other teachers from all over the world. He is currently planning on going to visit a friend in Peru.