Love Me or Hate Me

Blogging is a scary place sometimes, at least for me.  You put yourself out there and share your stories and your life with complete strangers.  I blog because I want a place to express myself, document my life and “meet” people along the way.   If you haven’t noticed I don’t blog 5x a week.  I don’t blog if I have a lot going on in my real life nor do I blog just to blog.  I blog because it’s fun for me and it’s a hobby.   I never want it to get to the point where I am stressed out and no longer enjoy it.  I also understand that not everyone is going to like me, what I share or my writing style and I’m okay with that.  

I don’t think it’s okay for people to be negative towards someone.  It hurts me that there is a whole website dedicated to bashing bloggers.  It really makes me sad that people go out of their way to talk badly about someone.  How about you just don’t read the blog if it’s not something you are into instead of making people feel bad about themselves.  Anyways, I am not talking about anyone being rude to me or anything I just needed to get that off my chest. 

Moving on, here are some things you may or may not know about me.

1.  I'm sure this one is pretty obvious but I love my dogs.  I am one of those crazy pup moms. I talk to them on the regular and even ask them question's like they are going to answer me. I rub there bellies when they don't feel well.  I take Dragon to daycare and over watch her on the TV feed that you can watch from your computer.  I let them sleep on top of me when they are scared or protecting me when Phil is out of town for work.  I buy them toys.  I secretly think that my dogs are better than your dogs.  Phew glad I got that out there.  I want to take them on trips with us when we go out of town because I would rather have them with us.  I would rather hang out with them than most people.  I Instagram way to many pictures of them, well not to me but I think others might think differently. Snuggling on a Sunday with them is my idea of a really good day.  I dress them up. I bake cakes for their birthday celebrations. You get the point, I love my dogs.

2.  I have a huge sweet tooth.  And non of that hard candy crap.  I'm talking Cake, Cookies, Creme Brulee, Strawberry Shortcake, Cheesecake, S'mores, Brownies, Crumble Pie, Reeses, Ice Cream. Shoot I even like to put maple syrup on everything.  I must be related to elfs.  I could keep going but I'll stop.  It's a huge problem especially during that "ladies time."  I am really trying to stay on the healthy track but it's really hard for me to not eat these things.  I know there are better alternatives and I do try to do that when I cook but it's real difficult when eating out.  The other night I was just having one of those days and for dinner all had was cupcakes.  Yea, not just one but two.  

3.  I stopped caring about what people thought of me a long time ago.  I wasn't always this way though.  Middle school till about senior year I was definitely the odd girl out.  I cared way to much about what others thought of me and because I am a little out there I was afraid to be myself.  I didn't like to break the rules, yea I was one of those good girls.  I couldn't even talk to a guy without blushing and freezing up.  I didn't have my first kiss till I was 16. Insert shocked face here.  I tried to fit in with a group of girls that I didn't even like.  Mainly because my two best friends were "friends" with them. They were mean, judgy and just not people I really wanted to be around.  Girls are just terrible people between the ages of 12 and 17, can you say raging hormones? But through it all my sister and best friend Kristen were always there for me and to this day still are my best friends.  They were the girls that I could and can be myself 100 hundred percent. We've all been through so much together and I love them no matter what.  

It wasn't until the end of senior year and beginning of college that I really embraced who I was.  I thank my mom though for helping me learn to accept myself.  If I dress nice it's because I want to dress nice, it's not for anyone else. I'm quirky, weird and I beat to my own drum as they would say.  But that's who I am.  I accept the fact that I may be too much for some or just straight up not your cup of tea.  I'm filled with flaws and I am the first to admit it.  

Love me or hate me, it's still an obsession.
Love me or hate me, that is the question.
If you love me then thank you!
If you hate me then fuck you! -Lady Sovereign

Happy One Year Anniversary Dragon

 

A year ago on Saturday Phil and I added the newest member to our lil family and of course we celebrated.  We have no idea actually how old she is so we decided to make this her "birthday."  We do know she is around 1 and half in human years.  It was an exciting day.  Dragon and I started the morning with a run along the river.  It was our first outdoor run of 2014, so we were both really happy to get outside. Dragon did a lot better than I did as I was huffing and puffing about 3 minutes in but she kept me going.  

The rest of the afternoon Dragon spent it with Phil while I was having a girls lunch with my friend down in Indy.  I can't really say what they did but I think it had some lounging around, cleaning and vodka involved. Either way it was bonding time while Mom was out for the day.  

When I got back home I made Pork Chops, Thyme Potatoes, and Lemon Asparagus.  While that was cooking I whipped up a Carrot Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and homemade Sweet Potato Bones for Dragon and Mouse.  I have to say this is the first time I have made a dog cake and for just doing it last minute it came out pretty flippin good if I do say so! 

We attempted to put her princess hat on but she was of course being a diva and didn't want anything to do with it.  We brought her cake out and sat her at the table.  She would not look at the cake.  I swear she thought it was a trap because she knows she isn't supposed to eat at the table.  We were cracking up.   My girl is smart and wasn't fallin for it.  So after our photo shoot we put the cake on the floor and Mouse and Dragon had at it.   I had to take it away from them because they were straight up inhaling it.  I didn't want to be up all night with sick pups.  This recipe is pup-approved.  

If you are interested in the recipe I've included it at the bottom of the post.

I'll never forget the day we first saw Dragon or Zara as they called her at the Kennel.  She was the prettiest thing I had ever seen.  We left that day with no dog until I begged and begged Phil that this dog would be perfect for us.  We went back on February 22, 2013 and officially adopted her. :)

Sure, Dragon didn't make it easy for us in the beginning and if you are new to these parts then you should probably catch up here.  But after finally learning to trust us and with a lot of hard work she has become the best dog we could ask for.  We love you so much Dragon! 

Part One of Cruise 2014

A little bit over a month ago I went on a cruise with my boyfriend, family and best friend.  I don’t know if you have ever done a vacation recap but that shitz takes forever.   Ain’t nobody got time for that.  So I finally am semi, err getting around to it.  To make it easier on myself and everyone else this baby is going to be a 2-parter. 

Philip and I headed down to Fort Lauderdale a day early to spend some time with my Dad.  As I’ve said before, Airports on not my favorite place in the world.  I ended up coming across this new book, called The Genius of Dogs and I mean if you know anything about me I AM IN LOVE WITH ANIMALS specifically DOGS.  I guess you could say I am errrr shall you say obsessed with dogs.  So anyways I thought it would be a good read and would keep me busy on the plane.  

Real cute, Meg.  Needless to say we were both a little excited to be heading down to the warm sun.  Our second flight we weren't able to sit together.  I am not even sure why that happened because when I booked them we were together.  Luckily though, this cute guy in 32A bought me a beer.  :)

We were getting into Florida right as the sun was going down so it was really pretty coming in. My dad and his wife Dee were there waiting for us at the airport.  I don't get to see my parents especially my dad nearly as much as I would like to. It was nice to give him a big hug. They took us to 15th Street Fisheries for dinner.  It's right on the water and you can see all the big mega yachts and million dollar homes.  We sat right on the water and as always I ate way to much food.  I tried conch for the first time and usually I don't have a problem with textures but that was until I met conch.  Not for me.  

After dinner we went back to their apartment had a drink and I wish I couldn't remember what it was called because it was really good.  I wanna say it was some kind of whiskey/bourbon and gingerale combo?  My dad would know, well of course he would know because he made them for us.  Traveling takes a lot of you so we called it in early.

The next morning they showed us around.  Their back yard is right on this canal and during Manatee season they like to hang out there.  For breakfast they took us to Pelican Grand Beach Resort.  It was super special because this is where the two of them got married.  They took us down memory lane.  They told us that a storm had wiped out a big portion of the beach.  We went to the roof top and took some snap shots.  I'm not sure what my eyes were doing, I think they took the day off because I look like I am half asleep in these.

It was time for us to head to the Ship Port so we could start boarding and meet up with everyone else. I think everyone got a little bit sad, well I know I did because it sure wan't enough time together.  It was a great way to start the vacation and I am so glad we were able to spend the time together that we did.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Cruise 2014! 

I'm Well Prepared For Kids

Guess who decided to show up today? Yup, me.  On Monday I had every intention of posting about my weekend of love but life had other plans.  I was instead hugging the toilet bowl (real cute), laying around, napping, and watching True Blood.  Guess I had some 24 hour thing going on. 

Then I realized what it was going to be like being a parent one day.  Yup, my dogs really are preparing me for the future.  My lil baby Mouse, hates anything bad weather related, I’m talking rain, wind, thunder, lightning, snow, hail.  If it’s not sunny, she doesn’t like it.  She will start freaking out hours before the weather even comes our way.  It really is remarkable how dogs can sense stuff like that.  She shakes, cries, hides in the dark creepy basement in the corner or jumps right on my lap.  I think a lot of this has to do with what happened to her before Phil adopted her.  He found her wondering the streets, scared and alone during a thunderstorm. 

And sometimes you get a butt to the face.

Of course, the bf was away on business Monday night.  She kept me up all night crying because it was balls to the wall windy.  We used to have a thundercoat, which helped a little bit but you know Dragon went through a “I EAT EVERYTHING” phase and well that jacket didn’t stand a chance.  So now I am thinking about taking her to the vet to see what other options we can do to help.  It’s gotten really bad and my heart breaks that she has so much anxiety over bad weather.  She already has a heart murmur and I worry that she is causing even more stress to it. 

So yea I didn’t sleep.  I moved from my bed to the couch to the spare bedroom.  Not to mention that Dragon becomes Ms. Protective when Phil’s gone and sleeps on top of me so no one can get to me.  It’s adorable.  It makes sleeping really hard though.  At work my number one priority was not to fall asleep at my desk.  So I drank stupid amounts of coffee and I’m not sure if anything I did made sense.  I came home, tore off my work clothes and slipped into jammies, ate and went to bed.  I’m going to be a pro when I have kids someday because I will know what it’s like when you don’t get any sleep and still have to show up to work. 

Anyways back to the love fest of a weekend.  Now, Phil really isn’t a romantic guy but I am a super mush lush, cheese ball, hopeless romantic, whatever you want to call it.  He’s not into the whole Valentines thing but because he knows I just love, love and I think that fact that it was our 1 year of living together anniversary he stepped up his game a little bit.  He straight up shocked me by sending flowers to my office.  I didn’t expect it because I just know that’s not his thing.  I was rocking the cheese ball smile all day.  I couldn’t wait to get home to see him.  When I got home the house was cleaned, the table was moved in front of the fireplace and candles were lit all over the house.  It was really sweet. 

I was excited to give him his card because inside I had wrote him my first ever love letter.  Which, totally isn’t his thing but I knew he would love it anyways.  Everyone last week had been posting “We work because…” and I didn’t feel like posting it for everyone but instead just wanted it to be between us.  So that’s what a majority of the letter consisted of, why we work.  Don’t tell anyone but he even got a little teary eyed.  I prepared the same meal we had last year and hope to make this a new tradition of ours.  I have to say though my cooking got way better in a year.  Phewwww.   We sat for a good hour in a half talking about our dreams and the future.  I love when we talk about us, the future and the fact that we can talk about this stuff and both feel the same way.    It is these moments that I love the most.  Afterwards we cozied up on the couch and watched three episodes of House of Cards.  We claimed this as an “our show” thing.  It was a simple and laid back night but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

Saturday morning, I got my butt to the gym.  Day 4 at the gym for the week.  Friends, I reached my goal.  Afterwards my friend twisted my arm to go get our nails painted, it wasn’t really a twist at all more of a what color should I get them? 

When I got back I got all ready to head down to Indy for our date night.  I even bought lipstick.  I haven’t warn lipstick since middle school.  I have to say I kind of like it.  We made a pit stop at my brothers first and played with my niece and nephew.  These two, always put a smile on my face.  My nephew is just talking about a storm.  But he talks so fast and quiet that I feel like a terrible aunt because I have no idea what he is saying.  I might also add that I was that Aunt that left lipstick marks all over my pour niece and nephews face. 

Afterwards we went for hookah, which is something we don’t do often but enjoy it every once in a while.  At 7 we met up with friends for dinner at 1933.  It’s right in downtown, Indianapolis and is part of St. Elmo’s Steakhouse.  They are known for the best Shrimp cocktail.  I happen to love their Lemon Drops and I might have enjoyed them a little too much that night.  We got our favorite spot in front of the fireplace.  It was so nice catching up with them and enjoying a night out.

I’m embarrassed to admit that the bf and I spent wasted 10 hours on Sunday watching House of Cards.  We completely finished the entire second season in one weekend.  We also learned that we both have no self-control what so ever.  What we should have done was drag it out so we could enjoy it, I mean at least make it last 2 weeks.  Nope, we just watched and watched and watched till it was all finished.  Now we have an entire year to wait for the new season to come out.  I did not shower, I didnt even think about getting out of my pj's, nor did I move from the couch.  

Did anybody else waste their weekend watching House of Cards?