I’m not very good at, you know, getting posts out on the actual holiday… but I figure being thankful is being thankful and whether it happened last Thursday or happens this Thursday doesn’t really matter. Right? So here it goes, 20 things that I’m thankful for at the start of this holiday season:

1.) A husband that loves me, shares a love of cheese and pineapple, will let me watch hours of Diners, Drive In’s and Dives and who happens to be one of the greatest people I know. I heart him.

2.) Days where you just have to eat your feelings — and friends/family that are more than happy to join in.

3.) The most ridiculous, ill-mannered, sweet dog ever.

4.) Cheese. What else is there to say?

5.) A glass, or 5, of good wine.

6.) The best friends in the world. Ones who repeatedly remind you of all those times you laughed until you peed your pants.

7.) Knowing that rum cake is less than a month away. Oh, yes. Holiday desserts.

8.) The ability to spend a night snuggled in blankets watching movies from the 90′s (Ahem, Father of the Bride 2).

9.) A house, while needing immeasurable amounts of duct tape & love, to hang Christmas lights on.

10.) The best family a girl could ask for.

11.) My health and the health of those around me.

12.) Christmas – I just love it. Christmas trees, twinkle lights, joy.

13.) Pinterest. The amount of things I’ve learned and the amount of time I’ve wasted are both astounding.

14.) Red shoes because they can inevitably make any outfit glamorous.

15.) *Fingers Crossed* That we’re done car shopping for several years. Two new cars in less than 1 year is a bit much.

16.) Chapstick. My chapped lips live for you, and my addiction to you means I couldn’t go more than a day without you.

17.) All the amazing things that happened in 2011 – engagement, wedding, travel, new house, and the list goes on.

18.) A safe, warm (though Christian and I differ greatly on the definition) and nice place to call home.

19.) Truffle oil – on french fries, on burgers, in mac n’ cheese, in anything really…

20.) Snowflakes. But only when they’re falling. Once they’ve hit the ground they might as well be the scourge of the planet.

I truly am thankful for everything I have, all the friends and family in my life and so much more. Hope you had a fabulous Thanksigving (only a week late)!

*Image by: jessicaNdesigns

So, I’m 25. The whole birthday thing happened last week and I’ve put off going through my 25 before I’m 25 list because, well, I didn’t do them all. 5 years ago all I would have wanted for my birthday was to go out, party, and have a night to remember with my friends. Now, all I wanted was a night, at home, doing nothing but relaxing. Maybe that’s the wedding planning/house buying craziness talking, but maybe it’s not. We had hamburgers and strawberry shortcake. It was the perfect in every way.

I originally posted about my 25 before I’m 25 list in 2010 and gave ‘er a little update in February 2011. Below is the final summary of what got done, and, um, what didn’t. About half made it to fruition and the other half of the list was a major fail. Everything on this list is still something I want to do, it just wasn’t in the cards for the year before I turned 25.

1. Spend a week on a beach. Any beach. Unplugged. - Ok, I didn’t do this… but I’m going to be heading to a beach on my honeymoon. That counts right?
2. Re-work the design of this site. - Done.
3. Read 12 books, one per month. - Done. I think I read maybe 50 books this year, and totally underestimated my reading abilities.
4. Post 100 times… 30 will, hopefully, be cranked out in November. - Well, I quit Nablopomo… and fell of the wagon when things got hectic this spring. Fail.
5. Be healthy. Get back to working out and eating well. - Done. I think I’ve done this. I’ve been working out, trying to eat better and trying to slim down for the wedding.
6. Try yoga. - Fail.
7. Take cooking classes. - Fail.
8. Schedule time for myself each week. - I would say I did this about 50% of the time. While I crave alone time, I’m too much of a do-er and end up finding things to do in place of “me time”.
9. Find a classy purse that suits me. And buy it. - I bought a lovely gray purse off Etsy! Double done.
10. Be able to do 10 push ups. - I can’t do 10, but I can see myself getting stronger and dipping lower and lower. Score!
11. Attend Canvas and Cocktails. - I have a gift card but haven’t used it, yet. I’m halfway there.
12. Smile more often — especially at strangers. - Some days this is a go, other days this is a fail. Check Denver traffic to see which day we’re on.
13. Fix Charles. Surgery and all. - Done and done.
14. Be happy. So much of it is in my control. - Done.
15. Pick a cookbook and make all the recipes – except the ones with mushrooms or other inedible objects. – I’ve got cookbook commitment issues. Sue Me. Fail.
16. Tell everyone I love, why I love them. - An everyday goal… and one that will always be in progress. Done.
17. Send more mail. Cards, packages, random gifts. - I sent and gave lots of gifts, card and random little mementos this year. Done.
18. Stay up late drinking wine and talking, even though I have to work the next day. - Done, done, done… too many times to count.
19. Buy a pair of *perfect* boots for winter. - I bought a pair… but my calves rebelled and wouldn’t allow the zipper up. So technically, done?
20. Spend a weekend in the mountains with friends. - Done.
21. Buy something from Etsy for someone and for my house. - Done. I bought magnets at Christmas for friends (and a necklace)… and a purse for me!
22. Develop my favorite pictures and hang them up. - Fail.
23. Be a positive impact. Be aware of what I do, what I listen to and how I behave. You never know who you’re impacting. - Always a work in progress.
24. Eat locally and naturally. Try to buy local and eat out at local restaurants. - Doing better at this. I love me some local food, and have tried to spend my money where it counts.
25. Stop to smell the flowers. This year flew by and I was constantly caught up in the day-to-day. I want to remember to take it one step at a time and pause to enjoy it! - Well, I’m planning a wedding and buying a house. I haven’t had much time to stop and smell the flowers. Have to mark this one as a work in progress.
    

Maybe the next list should be a 30 before I’m 30. That way I have five years. Meaning I’ll either have plenty of time to get all 30 things done OR I’ll totally forget about it until the last day that I’m 20. There’s probably and equally good chance it could go either way!

*Image by Jonty Wareing

This past Sunday morning, Charles brought my mom flowers. Yes, you read that correctly… he brought her flowers. He went outside and dragged them up from the garden, through the dog gate, up the stairs and planted them firmly inside her bedroom door. He then proceeded to sit by them and waited for her. And, as anyone would, she took a picture.

Come on, it’s cute, right? I heart that little man. With my whole heart. Even if he looks like he has a lazy eye and is in desperate need of a bath. Maybe next time he’ll pick some flowers for me?

It’s been about three months since Charles became frankenpuppy. After seeing him suffer so much after surgery I wasn’t at all sure that I’d made the right decision. However, I’m happy to report that he is doing GREAT. His bile acid (the bad things) are going down and he is (from a medical standpoint) slowly improving. From my standpoint he’s a whole new dog.

In July he could only walk a few blocks before pooping out, now he’s racing around with Christian and I on our runs. He’s eating more, he’s running more, he’s humping more — he’s acting like a whole new dog! And, I couldn’t be happier!

The only down sides we’ve noticed are his lack of snuggling and a new tendency stink up the room — at least his dog farts give us (mainly me) something to laugh about.

Overwhelmed and full of the “I’ll be happy when…” syndrome. I’d think about everything I didn’t have, what was going wrong, what I could be doing, who I was letting down and there wasn’t a way to escape the doldrums of my everyday life. I’d think “If I didn’t have to commute an hour each way I’d be happy”, “If I lose 10 lbs, I’ll be happy”, “If I get Charles his surgery I’ll be happy”, “If I didn’t have so much to do I’d be happy”. But, you know what, the moment I get those things, I find something else to base my happiness on. Which is a never-ending and, ahem, unhealthy cycle. Life slows down and I have time to be bored, I feel lazy and lonely. I lose 10 lbs. and realize I won’t be happy until another 10 lbs. is gone. Get the picture?

I read a quote somewhere, please forgive the paraphrasing, about how you put things off with the “someday” tag and hope you’ll get back to them, you’ll go to Italy someday, you’ll buy a house someday, you’ll go to the gym someday. But, someday is today. I need to stop putting off my life, and, most likely, so do you.

There are so many things I’m blessed to have and experience. I want to focus on that, I want to focus on the family that I love, my wonderful friends, my amazing boyfriend, my sweet puppy, living in beautiful Colorado, all the traveling I get to do, being financially stable, being healthy, etc.

So here it is. I’m on a quest to …

I was a little shocked when I picked him up that 1.) his incision was GINORMOUS and 2.) that he was so out of it. Each call from the dr. and his student made it seem as if Charles was up and running around, eating and making friends with everyone. Not so. He was acting like a tiny sickling that needed constant care.

Fast forward about a week and the little man is living in onesies, so that he doesn’t lick/chew out his stitches. This wardrobe choice has also lead to a few wonderful potty problems from wetting his onesie to having some poo trouble in the onesie. He’s in desperate need of a bath. Desperate.

I took him to get his stitches out on Saturday and he decided the night before to help the dr.’s out a bit. He took out the top 1/3 by himself. The only reason I let him out of his onsie was because my mom kept saying, ALL WEEK, “He’s just licking, he leaves them alone except for some licking. He won’t tear them out”. Well she was wrong.

Nonetheless, he seems to be doing well. I’m jamming his Amoxicillin pills down twice a day in addition to his normal medication and prescription kibble routine. I’ll keep you posted, but so far so good.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I caught him eating his own poop. I can barely look at him. Maybe the antibiotics give it some extra spice? Here’s to hoping it was a one time thing. (crossing fingers now)

I took Charles up to the CSU vet hospital for some puppy surgery today. I believe I’ve mentioned his liver ailment here before, but I haven’t been doing many updates because it’s a bit of a downer. I took Chuck in for his annual appointment at the end of June only to learn that his blood work was extremely off — giving him a time line of about 6 months. I cried a lot. I found out at work, spent the rest of the day in and out of tears with my door shut. I figured that was better than having my co-workers question why I had disappeared and an ogre had moved into the room I usually work in.

Crying isn’t a pretty endeavor for me.

All I knew was that I couldn’t watch my sweet Charles suffer through seizures and other neurological symptoms while there was something I could be doing about it. So after a month and a half of “thinking about it”,  I finally took him get all fixed up. The funny thing is, I’m scared I made the wrong decision.

The doctor was nice (or vet dr?), he seemed like he knew what he was talking about… and they let me leave Charles with his little stuffed frog. I have the overwhelming fear that he won’t make it out of surgery, that I won’t see him again. In reality the bigger worry is that he’ll come out of surgery and begin having violent seizures that won’t go away. That’s the 1/10 result. Scares the shit out of me.

I snuggled him last night, played frog with him this morning and told him I loved him and to be trooper tomorrow. I know I’m going to be an anxious mess until I get the after surgery report… but here’s to Charles getting better. To real dog food, swimming in his dog pool, long walks, fetch in the park and snuggles in the winter. I sure do love that little guy.

P.S. Have I mentioned that Charles is passionate about corn on the cob? Oh, that and he’s also a pro at getting every last kernel off!

1.) Making something delicious for dinner.

2.) Going to the pool this weekend.

3.) Going to the beach in a couple of weeks.

4.) Disneyland.

5.) More summer BBQ’s.

6.) The leaves changing.

7.) The annual library book sale this fall. In which I get hundreds of books for next to nothing.

And just for fun a few things I’m not looking forward to:

1.) Buying Charles some dog surgery.

3,) The end of summer.

4.) Stepping in more barf. Or poop. Or other dog business.

What are you looking forward to?

*Photo Credits: Let Ideas Compete, Martin Cathrae, Visual Panic

On that note, Charles is a crazy sleeper. He sleeps with me most nights, so I would know. Occasionally he’ll curl up at the end of the bed and stay that way the entire night — rare but it does happen. Most nights he’s up and wiggling about. He’ll toss, turn and scratch until he’s happy. If it’s a really rough night he’ll get up, move around and then throw his 8 lb. body against my back. Just thrash and toss to make sure that I know he’s not a happy camper. He’s really precious. I swear.

Amongst his crazy sleeping habits are his crazy sleeping positions. With his liver problem he is often exhausted to the point of being floppy. You can contort him about like a rag doll and he will barely open his eyes. He will let you do as you will. This being the case, he falls asleep and happily remains in some of the most bizarre places and positions. Because I love my dog and want to share his joy with the world, I (the ever generous picture sharer) am here to document his greatest moments. Tada:

Told you they were good.

Can't quite pull his last leg into the bed.

Between a pillow and a soft spot.

Half-n-half. Can't quite pick a position, so he just combines them.

Wedged between the side of the couch and the cushion...

Feeling floppy.

Taking cover for his nap. Under a magazine that is.

Isn’t he precious? I thought so too.

Apparently Charlie didn't get the memo.

I’m embarrassed — which granted, for me, is easy to be. But — I’m really embarrassed. Why you ask? Because my dog pooped all over someone’s floor. ALL OVER. And I missed it. You want to know how I found out? The smell. Then I looked up and saw poop EVERYWHERE. All I could think to do was hide my head and say “Charlie pooped, don’t look, don’t look!”. Which of course means they looked and I wanted to curl up into a tight little ball and crawl into a dark hole to hide. I know that it’s ridiculous, but I feel terrible on top of being embarrassed. Dog poop is freaking gross, not to mention that it was ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I might as well have pooped on the floor… at least then this level of embarrassment would be understandable. Now that would have been a story… but I would probably keep that one to myself because even though I know you’re judging me over my dog’s poop I can only imagine the amount of judgment I would get if I had pooped on the floor.

Poor Charles.  I mean I was rageful, but he was so pathetic. He knew he was screwed as soon as I stood up. He cowered, little tail tucked between his legs and hair drooping in his eyes. I took him out hoping to avoid an accident of the urine variety and he ran away. He knew his ass was grass so he booked it as far away from me as possible. And peed. Outside. Like he’s suppose to. Oh joy. I tossed him in the back of the car and didn’t talk to him the whole ride home. When we pulled it to the garage, he hid under the neighbors car. He would rather hide in a cold, dark garage than come in the house with me. What does that say about my level of anger? Eh? Well it’s now 2 days later and we are just starting to make up. Idiot.

But I’m not feeling any less embarrassed. It would be easy for me to walk away right now. Just not talk about this for the next week. But, instead I’m facing my embarrassment and letting it out, at least to the Internet.

P.S. Can I mention that I find that my dog resembles a kangaroo when he poops. How he contorts like that is beyond me.