Déjà vu

Last weekend gave us a bit of déjà vu in the form of more snow. This time, our area wasn't the hardest hit, but that didn't keep us away from going to the place that was!

After all, it was Super Bowl weekend. We'd had plans to spend it with friends in DC for months. We weren't going to let a few inches -- OK, a few feet -- of snow keep us away!

So on Saturday afternoon (after finishing our items for the Super Bowl party), we headed north. The roads were fine until we got a little north of Richmond. From then on, they were covered in snow and pretty bumpy. Since we were in K's SUV, we didn't have to worry about skidding, so we pressed on.

We couldn't believe how deep the snow was when we got to DC! (That's a car under there!)

On Sunday, we watched Piper have a blast playing in the snow with our friends' black lab. They made quite the team! The lab would do an almost swimming, butterfly-like maneuver to make a path through the snow, and she and Piper would run around them. K would throw snowballs, and they'd chase after them.

Piper is not a big fetcher, but she'll chase after snowballs! When she got bored with that, she entertained herself with trying to herd the lab, which is at least twice as big as she is. It was pretty entertaining to watch them!

We drove around a bit looking at all the snow.

As for that last picture, K almost went crazy when he saw it. It was quite a fort, complete with a telescope and flag. The first thing that went through my mind was that I could see a very similar image someday (minus the Hummer, of course) in our future once we have kids!

The Super Bowl party wound up being a bit smaller than our friends had planned. The 15 guests they had expected was substantially more than what they wound up with. K and I were the only people who were able to come!

I think it was easier for us to put forth the effort in getting there because (1) we left the day before, (2) we knew the effort it would take to get there would be worth the distance we were going, and (3) we're just cool like that. As our friend put it, everyone already in the area was probably in hibernation mode. Plus, if their cars were as buried as the ones we saw around town, I can't blame them for not messing with it!

A smaller party meant better seating for all of us, more one-on-one time with some of our closest friends, and more yummy food for each of us!

Totally worth the drive!

The kind of experience that comes around once every 23 years

Well, we didn't make it to the ski slopes today. The roads were a bit treacherous, so we stayed home.

Remember what our back yard looked like a week ago? This is how it looked when we woke up yesterday:

I was so excited when I looked out the window! K and I gobbled down breakfast, then headed outside to play in the snow with Piper.

She's quite the snow bunny! What's funny is that she hates rain and will absolutely avoid going outside if it's raining. Snow, however? She loves it! K and I took turns taking video of her frolicking around in it. She's such a dork.

Obviously she's not frolicking here; she's sitting. The frolicking was on video, though, remember?

K and I made snow angels (mine's on the right),

and then K tried to help Piper make one.

(Turns out she sucks at them.)

We decided to venture out to see how things looked beyond our neighborhood. With K's SUV, we knew we would be OK in the snow, so off we went! The highways were covered in snow. Other than that, they were empty.

That exit sign really had writing on it. I just blurred it out so the stalkers can't find us. Not that it was our exit, and not that I have stalkers -- that I know of. You can never be too safe!

We headed to our favorite beach because I wanted to see what it looked like covered in snow. First, though, I'll share a couple pictures of how it looks not covered in snow.

I took these pictures Jan. 5. This is actually my favorite place in all of Virginia. It's a private beach on the post where K works. On nice days, we love to have lunch on this bench.

This is what "our" beach looked like yesterday:

The wind created a cool mix of sand and snow on the sidewalk.

When we got back home, I made us some snow ice cream. My friend Danielle mentioned that she had done that when OK got hit with a ridiculous blizzard at Christmastime. Evidently her family had always done that when it snowed enough. I thought I'd give it a shot.

I found a recipe online that involved a gallon of snow, 2 cups of milk (or more, if needed), a cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of vanilla.

The website had said that snow ice cream isn't about making creamy, gourmet ice cream; it's about the experience of making it. Still, I thought it was pretty dang good! For extra awesomeness, I added chocolate syrup to mine.

K, on the other hand, took one bite and made a face. He asked if I'd be offended if he didn't eat it. I guess I'll just have to hold my hopes of making that a fun tradition for another 15 years or so when we have kids. Oh, well ...

By the end of the day, we were surprised at the amount of snow that had fallen:

Since we're so close to the coast, it's rare for weather like this here. In fact, according to our local weatherman, snowfall like this hits every 23 years. It had been 21 years, so it was only a little early.

It makes me feel lucky we got to experience it! Definitely made for a pretty cool Saturday!

A photoshoot with Piper!

Sunday night after we put up our Christmas tree, I couldn't sleep well at all. I was stuck in that phase between sleep and awake, and for some reason I was really worried that our tree would topple over. How could a tiny stand with three stupid screws hold an 8-(plus-)foot tree up? As if that wasn't enough, we added lights. And tinsel. And decorations. We made it heavier. Idiots! Of course it's going to fall.

And if it didn't fall, it would catch on fire. I actually considered waking K to see if he thought the tree might catch fire. (What is it lately with all these weird dreams?!) Thank goodness, my fear vanished when I woke up Monday morning to a still-erect tree (*insert juvenile laughter) that showed no signs of having been on fire during the night.

On Monday, I put a picture of our tree on my computer desktop at work. I find myself minimizing all my open windows periodically so I can just look at it. It makes me happy.

Tonight K and I (and Piper!) did a quick photo session in front of the tree with my fabulous camera and the self-timer button. I managed to catch some fun pictures of Piper too.

I told K we'd have to put this last one in a frame for his dad, who adores Piper. (He's dog-sitting for us for New Year's. He's threatened to not give her back when he's done.)

I can't say I blame him.

How to know your dog thinks she's a person

Happy birthday, Piper!

Thanks for sitting still juuuuuuust long enough to let me take this picture.



Sorry to delay the Mom post one more day. After my boot camp-like workout tonight, I'm about to die. Must. go. to. sleep. But I promise the post will come tomorrow.

There. Now it has to. I promised.

After today, I'll be making some minor changes to my morning routine

I had quite the morning today! It stormed last night and was still raining this morning. I was getting around a little later than usual. I walked out of my apartment at 8:45, 8:50ish. I did the same thing I do every morning: I went to my car and put my laptop in my trunk. I put my keys and purse in the front seat. Then, I went to the grass on the side of my building so Piper could use the bathroom before we left.

Since it was raining, her feet were all wet. I walked to my passenger's side door to spread her blanket over the seat and let her in on that side so she wouldn't get my seat covered in mud. The door was locked, so I walked back around to the driver's side to unlock it. I hit the button, closed my door and walked back to the passenger's side to let Piper in. Only instead of UNlocking my door, I had locked it. And closed it. And locked myself out of my car.

Thank goodness with K being gone, I always have my phone on me -- and thank goodness it has Google maps on it! I was able to find a locksmith and call to have someone come break into my car. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, at 10:00 (about 40 min. after I called), a locksmith showed up. About 20 minutes and $90 later, I had my keys and purse.

What just goes along with my morning is that as soon as I opened my door to get my keys and purse, Piper took that as her cue to hop in the car. So even after my ridiculous effort to keep my seat from getting muddy, Piper still managed to get filthy paw prints all over it. Go figure!

Pictures I meant to post days (and weeks) ago

Remember that 5k I did in March?
























































My brother's first time in a race car in almost two years
















Pictures from the storm last Wednesday night (this was all from my neighborhood)












































Meeting up with one of my old roomies last weekend
















My impromptu photo shoot with Piper





























It was tough at first -- she kept eating the flowers and looking everywhere but toward me -- and then I got these.

Successes!

I don't know what my deal has been with this whole blogging thing lately. Things just haven't seemed exciting, I guess. Big things have happened, though. Some high points:

• My review was last week at work. It went well. My raise was good. I had let myself get my hopes up about the whole promotion thing until early last week, when I learned in a conversation with my boss that there are absolutely no positions open in what I'm wanting to do next. If such a position does open up, she'll let me know so I can apply for it. In the meantime, I'll be helping out a few different groups in that area, so I'll just be building more and more valuable experience for when that job does come open.
• My brother got an awesome promotion. (He works for NA.SCAR, remember?) He'll get to travel with the team he works for to pretty much all the races now. He actually kind of got two promotions in one, and the cool thing is that both will allow him to work on pit crews as well, which he really enjoys and wants to do more of. I'm so proud of him and excited for him!
• K and I had success with the webcams Saturday! The picture was a bit delayed and would freeze for a few moments sometimes, but we were both able to see and hear each other much better than in our previous attempts. Thank you, Y@hoo messenger!

Last Thursday morning, I sent K the most awesome care package ever. It was the second part of his Valentine's Day care package. I sent the first part out last week, and it included some homemade peanut butter cookies (a new recipe!) and a photo calendar, which I always get K for Valentine's Day. I also got him P!rates of the Caribbean 3, since he would have bought it if he were here (yes, I know it's been out several weeks, but I kept putting off buying it because I thought P!rates 2 was so disappointing).

For the package last week, I made him a photo greeting card. I wrote my own little message to go inside, and I got the talking card so I was able to record an extra message on that. I know he's going to love the card, so I'm excited for him to get it. I'm pretty proud of it. It turned out great.

I sent him lots of Reese's, since they're his favorite, and I bought him some new pillow cases, washed them and sprayed them with his favorite scent that I wear. I also burned him a CD with a lot of the current popular music that I don't think he heard before he left, in addition to a couple songs that weren't so new but I thought he might like and not be familiar with. I wrote him a nice, long letter about why I chose each song on the CD, since I'd just written him a huge email telling him everything I'd have said in the letter. I put red tissue paper and Valentine's patterned tissue paper in the box to add the extra bit of care. I'm really excited for him to get the package!

When I spoke to K today on the webcam, he showed me the tupperware container I'd sent the entire batch of peanut butter cookies in. There were only three left, and he said he'd only had them for a day. Guess I'll be making more of those!

The weather was gorgeous this weekend! Yesterday, I was a complete bum, although I did get some cleaning done around my apartment. Today, I went to church, ran a couple errands and then took Piper for a 2-mile walk at a park not far from my apartment. She did so well!

She used to be kind of racist. She always managed to bark at blacks and Mexicans. I have no idea why, but thank goodness, she got over that several months ago. She's always barked at kids, though. Even if they're 11 or 12, she's scared of them. I don't know what the deal is. She also doesn't like it when people she doesn't know run or ride scooters or bikes near her.

I didn't know what to expect taking her to such a busy park that I knew would be filled with plenty of families, young children, other dogs, joggers, and runners, and people on skates, bikes and scooters. I tried to be optimistic, but I prepared myself for the possibility that I'd have to leave soon after arriving if Piper didn't seem to take to the whole thing well.

She pleasantly surprised me! We walked all around the park. We passed running children, crying babies, skating kids and even kids who stopped to pet her. She did great through all of it. There was one time she started giving low barks to a little girl who was walking with her two parents. I immediately got in Piper's space, put my hand over her muzzle and told her to hush. And she did. I'm thinking now that the weather is getting better, I'll take her there more often so she'll get more exposure to the world around her and not be so reactive to people she doesn't know.

Tonight, I went to the gym. We're doing this tough circuit that is exhausting. We did chest and back, and I seriously feel like my arms are going to fall off. It was a good workout, though, and a good way to end the weekend.

In an effort to make it to bed before midnight, I'll close with this oh-so-funny comment from K during a webcam attempt this afternoon. For some reason, the microphone on my webcam wasn't working. K and I were trying to figure out what the problem was. I typed on the messenger, "You can see me, but you can't hear me." His response: "I know. It's the perfect marriage."

The one where I talk a lot about food

Things have been so crazy hectic lately! First, thanks to everyone who delurked. Most of you I know because you're awesome and have already commented at least a time or two, but Janelle rocks for really, truly delurking. It was cool to find out who at least one of you are.

As for the rest of you, even if you didn't choose to say hello, I'm still glad you stop by. And a note for the person who keeps finding me by searching for "g!rl un.buttoned jeans," please try this instead: "ru!ned wedd!ng dress ok!ahoma" (of course, with the correct letters in place of the exclamation points). Or you could try "4 day$ in Hawa!i." Either of those are MUCH more flattering ways to get here.

And on to the updates ...

Work has just been getting busier and busier. Thursday night I worked pretty late, and Friday night, I worked even later. It was exhausting. This week is actually supposed to be the "hell week" before things die down. I'm hoping it really does slow down after this. These extra hours are really adding up (and I don't get overtime)!

Piper has been acting better at work (thank goodness!). I've made her start sleeping in her crate again instead of on my bed. That way, if she's not so used to being around me 24/7, she won't become a whimpering punk when I walk away from my desk. It seems to be working. I've also made sure she always has a bone to chew on during the day. She stays pretty occupied that way. And gassy. But at least I'm the only one who complains when that happens.

My weekend went by fast. I slept in until 10 on Saturday, then lazed around a bit the rest of the morning. That afternoon, I ran a ton of errands. I sent a care package to K, got my name changed with my cable company (finally), and went in search of a few things I need to complete my living room, which I'm redoing (pictures to come later!).

I ran a few more errands before meeting up with Brit (a friend from work) and a friend of hers from high school (they're the girls I spent New Year's with) for appetizers and bellinis at Johnny Car!no's, which I know I've mentioned on here before is my absolute FAVORITE.

We hung out for a while and met up with a couple other girls to continue stuffing ourselves, this time with Mexican food and margaritas for dinner. We were actually supposed to go dancing after dinner, but you all know how I really feel about dancing, and you all know what it takes to really get me dancing. And since I was driving, that wasn't going to happen.

Plus, we had waited so long for a table at dinner that by the time we ate and were able to leave, it was close to midnight. With the slow pace of the night leading up to that, I just wasn't wanting to suddenly pick things up and try to get into dancing. Brit gets queasy pretty easily after hardly any alcohol, so her one margarita had left her feeling ready to go home. We called it a night, which I wasn't disappointed about.

I went to church Sunday morning. ER's family is in town right now, so I sat with her, her sister and her mom. We left immediately after the sermon and headed to lunch, which I hadn't realized was going to be with ER's entire family. I knew all but about 4 of them anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. ER's grandma told the 4 I didn't know that I'm pretty much part of the family. :)

After lunch, ER, her sister, her mom and I all went to see 27 Dresses. It was a pretty good movie. It wasn't the "oh-my-gosh-I'm-buying-this-as-soon-as-it-comes-out" chick flick I'd hoped it would be, but it was a cute movie. My opinion of it may have been slightly skewed from the beginning, since it turns out ER's mom likes to sit in one of the closer rows to the screen. ER's sister commented during the previews that she was glad we weren't seeing an action movie, so I guess I wasn't the only one who was feeling dizzy being that close to the screen. And who knows, the movie might have been absolutely perfect if I'd been about 10 rows back.

The rest of the day was somehow filled with more errands, but I did manage to find some time to just relax on the couch. I didn't make it to the gym all weekend, but I decided it was OK since I was pretty productive and needed the down-time.

Today we celebrated one of my co-worker's birthday at work. The day was filled with all kinds of totally unhealthy food. It was awesome.

And then I attempted to work out at the gym tonight. I just couldn't get into it. I had no energy, which is when I realized I really hadn't eaten anything good for me all day, and I just felt disgusting. I was frustrated at myself, and I completely understood what GFF means when she talks about feeling gross after unhealthy food. I usually have pretty good willpower when it comes to crappy food, but for some reason, today it all just snuck up on me. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't eaten cheese enchiladas at lunch. Or if I'd had time to eat a real dinner, other than microwave soup. And I'm sure the piece of the lunch brownie with whipped cream, the piece of the yummy chocolate chip bread my boss made, and the two mini-pastries I tried that we had in place of a birthday cake didn't help either.

I never thought I'd say this, but I never want to eat that much crap in one day again. Here's hoping tomorrow is MUCH healthier. And includes meat somewhere in there.

In the doghouse

Piper's had a bit of trouble with sep@ration anx!ety lately. If I walk away from my desk to where she can't see me, she immediately starts whining or barking, and a lot of times, she continues barking until I come back.

For a while there a few months ago, she was doing really well at this. Not so much lately. And I got an email about it this morning saying several of my co-workers have complained.

If you have any tips for how to break her of this, PLEASE share!!!

(I don't act excited to see her after being away from her. I ignore her for a while so she's not rewarded for any barking or whining she does while I'm gone. She's not getting the hint from that alone.)

Overdrawn

In every sense of the word -- mentally, physically, monetarily and patience-wise. Today sucks.

• I have -$64 in my checking account. It has been that way since Wednesday, and it will stay that way until Tuesday, when I get paid. All this is due to the post-Christmas crunch, in addition to a $190 carpet-and-couch cleaning bill (so glad it's done, though), a $90 dentist visit, a $65 follow-up dentist visit, a $40 eye exam and a $20 leash I had to buy since Piper chewed through her other one.
• Piper rolled in poop again today. This time, it was just a spot where some had been, but it was enough to get her fur icky and leave her smelling gross. I had to give her a quick spot-bath, since I knew I would be too busy at work today to come home to let her out at lunch. So I was a bit late to work. We don't have to be in at a certain time, but it means I'll be here that much later today because I have so much to do.
• I am stressing out about this extra project at work. I feel like I'm doing everything but sending a singing telegram to my boss saying, "Promote me!" I like the project I'm working on, but it's more stressful than my actual job. Hopefully it all pays off when we have our reviews in a few weeks.
• One of our two microwaves at work is broken, so when I went to heat up my lovely frozen food for lunch, two other people hopped in before me. Awesome. (I threw my lunch back in the freezer and walked off. I feel that semi-tantrum was perfectly logical.)
• I haven't sent K a care package yet this week, which means I'll have to get one ready tonight or tomorrow. I just feel better when I always have one en route to him. Especially since our entire relationship right now is me sending care packages and emails and him calling when he can.
• I had an awesome workout on Wednesday that I'm totally glad I did, but when you add to the above list the soreness I feel on the back of my thighs and my butt with every step I take, it's not as great anymore.

Good things:

• It's Friday.
• K called yesterday. He's doing well and sounded good, but tired (it was 1:15 a.m. for him).
• I will be watching chick flicks and drinking champagne tomorrow with one of my work friends.
• It's Friday.
• It's Friday.
• It's Friday.

Is life ever going to slow down?

My Christmas was really relaxing. I went home to OK to see my dad, grandparents and my dad's girlfriend. My brother flew in from North Carolina, so we were all together again.

I went to OK after work on Friday, which had (disappointingly enough) turned out to be a full day for me (I had thought I'd get off work early). I went to lunch on Saturday with my high school boyfriend's mom, who has been like a second mom to me since I was 17. When we walked outside after our two-hour lunch, I was excited to see snowflakes falling from the sky!

I rushed home and took Piper outside. I made sure to film it on my digital camera so K could see her reaction to the weird white stuff falling from the sky. I took a few cute pictures of her playing in it. To be honest, I don't think it was enough for her to really be confused or excited about what was going on. She did enjoy the freedom of running around in my dad's fenced-in yard with no leash, though. At least K will most likely be here for Piper's real first time in accumulated snow.

Sunday was my dad's 50th birthday. We went to church and then to his store for a late breakfast. He and his girlfriend (who works there too) had quite a bit of work to do to prepare for Christmas orders the next day, so we were there for a few hours. After that, it was pretty relaxing. My dad made his awesome steak (no one can grill 'em better than a butcher!), and we watched The Bourne Supremacy (my brother and I had gotten Dad the boxed set for his birthday, and since my dad had bugged his girlfriend for so long about renting the movies because he hadn't seen them, we had given him his present early and watched The Bourne Identity the previous night) after.

Monday was spent at the store again for a large part of the day. We closed early, though, so we got to relax at home that night. On Christmas Day, we opened presents at about 9:30. We had a nice Southern breakfast of bacon, eggs, and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. As I was washing the dishes (I volunteered), K's dad called me. Since his family was all together, they passed the phone from person to person so I could have a quick conversation with everyone. In a matter of a few minutes, I had managed to talk to K's dad, brother, cousin, cousin's wife, great aunt and one of his aunts. It was good to hear from them all.

That afternoon, we headed to my grandparent's house. My cousins were in with their spouses, and all my aunts and uncles were in. The only person missing was K.

He actually called me right after dinner. He only had 30 minutes to talk, and he had used part of that time to call his family. I had expected that, since his family was all together, so I knew we wouldn't get to talk long. He sounded good, though, and it was great to hear his voice again.

My family got plenty of time with Piper. My brother thinks she's pretty cool, and my cousin's husband wants to kidnap her for himself. My dad actually seems to think of her as a granddaughter, which is funny and actually cute. (At one point during the weekend, my dad left the house to run an errand. Piper had followed him to the door, and she started whining when he pulled out of the driveway. She's only done that with K, me and one or two of my co-workers she really likes.)

Before I knew it, it was time for me to pack up my car and head back to Dallas, since I had to work on Wednesday. I was surprised how sad I felt to be leaving the house. It had been nice to see everyone again, but getting back in my car and making the drive home somehow made me miss K more. Maybe it's because you're supposed to spend Christmas with your family, and that very important part of my family was not there.

It was a good trip, though, and even though I was sad to see it come to an end, I was ready to get back to my own home. It was hard to get up and go to work on Wednesday. It was rainy out, and I knew a lot of people would be off work that day. I called my dad on my drive to work, and he told me it was snowing in Oklahoma. In fact, they managed to get about 3 inches that day. Go figure, I missed it by a day!

Yesterday was really slow at work, but today picked up. In fact, I'm even having to work from home tonight so I can finish a project and hopefully not have to work late tomorrow. Don't these people know you're not really supposed to work the week between Christmas and New Year's?!

The disgustingness continues (don't read while eating!)

I thought it was bad enough when Piper was eating dog poop. I've been very relieved to find her cravings seem to have been pretty short-lived. I did catch her with some in her mouth yesterday, but that was the first time in a few weeks. For the most part, she seems to be done with that. Whew.

As glad as I was to see that phase end, I'd definitely have chosen that reaction to dog waste instead of the reaction she had this morning.

I was trying to leave my apartment early enough to stop off at the post office before work. I had a care package to send to K, and I knew there would be about 1.5 billion procrastinators heading to that same destination today to mail off Christmas packages they should have sent off yesterday at the latest. I was doing pretty well with my goal of leaving early. I finished getting ready a good 20 minutes before I usually do.

I took Piper outside so she could do her thing before I put her in my car. She took her dear sweet time going to the bathroom, and once she had finally gone, I cleaned it up and headed toward the dumpster with the ... well, you know. Anyway, I turned around to see Piper had stopped behind me. She dropped to the ground and started rolling around in one spot. "You're disgusting!" I called back at her, since I thought she was rolling around in another dog's urine. Ick.

I got back to my car and instructed Piper to climb in, like I do every morning. She climbed into my passenger's seat and turned toward me. I was horrified to see something brown on her neck, the bottom of her ear and part of her leg. Then, I noticed a stench.

"OHMYGOSHPIPERYOU'REDISGUSTING!!! GET OUT OF MY CAR! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" She looked at me, confused, and jumped out of my car. I led her up the stairs to my apartment and opened the door. I walked her straight to my kitchen as I tried to figure out what to do with her.

Clearly, she needed a bath. I had no time for that. I could give her a quick spot treatment, cleaning just that side of her body. But I still would need to use shampoo. Lots of it. Even then, I'd probably still not want to touch her contaminated fur.

I cleaned as much off of her as I could with a paper towel. She smelled absolutely disgusting. I told her this several times. I was left with only one choice: leave her at home. I put her in her little crate, made sure she had some toys with her, and left my apartment.

I headed to the post office, frustrated that I'd have to go back home during lunch to take her outside. Do I stay and work from home after that? Do I try to bathe her on my break? Do I just leave her in her crate again and come back to work?

When I got to the post office, I saw the enormous line of people waiting to mail packages. Ugh. K's package would have to wait.

I had checked my mail earlier that morning to see that I had gotten quite a few Christmas cards since last Thursday (the last time I checked my mail). I opened each of them. The last was from K's roommate's fiance. It had a picture inside of her and him. It made me miss them. And then I was crying.

I had decided somewhere in my morning errands and commute that I was going to have to work from home the rest of the afternoon. That normally wouldn't be such a big deal, but today, it was frustrating. I had flowers to enjoy at my desk. I had worn my Army w!fe shirt, and I didn't want to waste it on a working-from-home day.

I made myself think of some reasons that change in plans will be good: 1) I won't have to deal with the evening commute. 2) I can get my hair cut at the time I'd normally be stuck in traffic in said commute. Which means I can still go to the gym afterwards! 3) I can try to mail the package again at lunch. 4) I can do laundry while I'm working. 5) People will see my awesome shirt at the salon, the post office and Pet$mart, which is where I've decided Piper will go to get her bath. I don't have time to give her one when she really needs it, and I can have her nails clipped while she's there as well. Taking her for the clipping was on my to-do list for the week anyway.

While it does feel better to have realized the good parts of the change in plans, it was still (quite literally) a very crappy way to start my day.

Are you surprised?

Guess who got busy again? And guess who's doing another one of those giant catch-up posts with headers?

Guess I should've been more specific
K and I tried the whole webcam thing again Monday night. I was sure to leave the gym by 9:30 so I'd have plenty of time to get home and maybe even shower before talking to K online. A few minutes before 10, I was at my computer logging on. I turned up my speakers and busied myself with watching The Hills (thank goodness Spencer & Heidi are finally OVER!) while I waited for him to log on.

K signed on at about 10:20. We started trying to connect with our webcams. It was exciting when I could actually hear him and another one of our friends who was in the room with him. I couldn't believe it -- this was actually working!

For a few seconds, anyway. The audio started doing this weird thing where it was skipping every few syllables of K's and repeating a few others. The result sounded like a rap song. When the video actually came up, it was exciting to see K.

And then I realized how bad the video was. Parts of the screen were getting jumbled from the delay of K's not-so-quick Internet connection.

We tried Sky.pe and W!ndows L!ve Me.ssenger. WLM seemed to be the better of the two for us, but it was still frustrating.


The other nights of the week
Reread the above mini-post, but be sure to add @Ol to it as well. We definitely tried all of them many, many times.

We tried using just video. We tried using just the microphones. We tried using the webcam and the microphones at the same time. We did all of that on each messenger service. And each time, after about an hour of trying, we gave up and just went back to typing.

Last night, we realized K can hear and see me clearly and with no problem, so we used the microphones and allowed just my webcam. It was still hard to hear K with the delay, but it was too good to hear each other's voices to fully switch to regular old-fashioned IM.


The first care packages/It's a good thing she's so cute
I got an email from K's FRG (f@mily readiness group -- they keep families informed and serve as a support system while the soldiers are gone) telling us we're finally cleared to send care packages over. Because K's battery had classes and training in other areas before getting to their final base, their address wasn't registered until Tuesday.

This meant that the night I got the email, I stayed home from the gym and got packages ready to send to K. We originally weren't supposed to be able to send anything until this weekend, so I had thought I had more time. I had put some things K wanted me to send him (his Wii, Guitar Hero, some socks & undershirts that I had washed for him, since they were dirty when he left) in boxes, but I still had things to add with them. I had to write a letter to go with the boxes, and I had to put some goodies in there for him, too, so he would feel loved.

One thing about K is that many Tuesdays each year find him at the store buying new movie releases. Last Tuesday is one I know was waiting for: the release of The Bourne Ultimatum (AWESOME movie!). I bought the limited-edition version, just like K would have, but I converted it to an .mp4 so he could put it on his iPod and so I could burn it to a DVD. That way, if the DVD gets lost, scratched, or borrowed and not returned, it won't be a big deal.

Piper was sitting on my bed and had realized she could see her reflection in my bathroom mirror, which was down a short hallway several feet away. She was barking and growling at herself, and I was laughing at her for being such an idiot.

I went back to my computer to finish burning the DVD. I turned to look at Piper and immediately stopped laughing when I saw she was peeing on my bed. I guess she really felt threatened by the strange dog she was growling at. Stupid dog.

I was up until almost 3 that night, thanks in part to the new loads of laundry I had to do because of Piper. I had just changed my sheets the night before, so I hadn't washed the other set yet.

I went to the post office the next morning to mail all the packages. There were four. K should feel loved by that. I'm sending him another one Monday morning. This one will be a "real" care package, though, with things I make and buy for him instead of things he needed me to send because he couldn't fit them in with everything he had to pack for the deployment.


And now for the weekend plans
As I type this, all three of my roommates from my senior year are on their way here. They're coming to spend the weekend with me, and I'm really excited. The four of us don't all get to hang out very often, so we always have a blast when we do.

But two of them have never been to my apartment. And because I think it's necessary for my entire apartment to be absolutely spotless when people see it for the first (and second, and third) time, I have got to get back to my organizing and cleaning.

I only blogged tonight because I was inches away from my computer, shredding old checks that were taking up room in a shoe box in my closet. Clearly, they have to be disposed of tonight. If the girls happen to look in my closet now, they'll be jealous of how orderly and nice everything is. It's amazing how much room a shoebox can take up!

My dog is disgusting

As of yesterday, Piper officially eats poop. Ew.

Piper: Making Slow Work Days Fun Since August 2007

This is what you have to resort to when your dog chews through not one, but two leashes while you're trying to be a productive employee on a Friday (like that isn't hard enough to begin with!):



















Don't be deceived by the hateful look in this picture. I'm pretty sure she likes her hair like this.



















OK, this one, she might not be enjoying as much. But I only made her sport the combover for this picture.