Sunday funday

Maybe it's daylight savings, maybe it's just a weird day but I just felt totally off today. I felt like I woke up super early (I didn't thanks to losing an hour) and then I felt like the day flew by. I read for school, helped C pack for Hawaii, talked to the parents for a bit, and watched Dan in Real Life. I had tacos for lunch and ice cream for dinner. Odd.

The dogs have been glued to my side all day. They're not a huge fan of packing. I think they're anticipating getting left behind. Little do they know they're in for an entire week of sleeping on the bed. I always feel so weird in a bed all by myself so when C's out of town I usually let the pups sleep with me. They're extremely grateful.

what kind of 85 lb. dog wants to sit on your lap?

Dan in Real Life was actually really good. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was funny, sad, and happy in all the right places. And of course it ended with everyone living happily ever after which is something I expect in a movie. I mean life's unpredictable enough, why do I need movies to be?

Speaking of movies. I don't do well with scary movies or even "action packed"movies. But the worst thing in a movie for me is when an animal dies. I can take a battlefield of dead people but for some reason if a dog dies I can't help but cry. Last year when I was teaching Biology at the end of the year I let my students watch I Am Legend. (Now if you're thinking it's not on the approved video list, it's not, but my school wasn't that picky.) Anyway, I had never seen the movie before and when Will Smith had to STRANGLE HIS OWN DOG I just about lost it. In fact I had to step out for a minute because I didn't want to be crying in front of a room full of 14 year olds.

I'm looking forward to this week alone, even though I'll miss C like crazy. But, I have a lot of stuff I need to get done and I'm always much more productive when he's not around. I'm off now ... I have to get up at 3 to drive C to the airport.

There are days...

i think they miss the beach, too.

... when I miss Maryland like crazy. I miss:

... my friends.

... the beach.

... I even miss the stupid traffic.

... trees.

... fields and fields of corn.

... the bay.

... seafood.

... our annual Memorial Day beach trip (and 4th of July, and Labor Day, and all the random ones in between).

... homes with shutters.

... hills.

... teeny, tiny mountains.

... family. Like crazy.

... real, wood burning fireplaces.

... teaching. so, so much.

... bonfires.

... route 50.

... my sister, my mom. and of course, my dad.

... watching the beavers.

... D.C.

... being able to watch the Terps on t.v. (when they're not sucking).

... people who know what a Terp is.

... humidity.

... rainy days. oh so much.

Most of the time I'm so glad we moved. Sometimes I miss home like crazy. I think about moving back even though I know C would never go for it. Anyone else get homesick every once in a while?

It's the little things ...

... a long walk, in the sun, on the first really warm day of the year.

... food in the fridge.

... chocolate.

... waking up to dogs that have already been walked and the smell of coffee.

... rain in the forecast!

... coming home to a hug from my favorite person in the world.

... cold diet dr. pepper.

... sleeping on my sleepy dog.

... REI dividends. can you say, free stuff?!

... finding lakes in Colorado.

... knowing that we can move anywhere that we want to and that there's no pressure to pick a place any time soon.

... opening the windows.

... trees that actually drop their leaves for the winter.

The story of Love Part 2: The year of no money

So, when we last left off I had just given Dunkin, otherwise known as Chunky Monkey, credit for C and I finally getting together. But before we could live happily ever after we had to get through some rough times.

our first pic as a couple.

First, we were the poorest people ever. C was in school with a year left to go and living off of student loans. I had just moved off campus to live and work in a vet clinic because my rent was free there. We felt like we were livin' it up when we ate at TCBY or split a 6 pack of Miller Light. Oh who am I kidding? We were in college. We split a 12 pack.

In our first year together we were pretty stressed out people. I barely got a night of sleep because my "free rent deal" meant that I was up with sick animals all night long. I was also still taking classes and applying for PA school once I realized that I didn't want to make $9/hour the rest of my life. C was taking as many classes as possible, trying to graduate, and realizing that engineering classes only got harder as the years went on.

Our lives might be a lot more comfortable now, but despite having no money, working crap jobs, and not having any idea where we'd be in a year, we had SO much fun that year. It's one of the reasons why I love the boy ... we can have nothing and do nothing and still have the best time.

Since we had no money we started looking for things to do that were free, which is how we got into hiking. I had been hiking since I was a kid and we started doing it a lot more. We even got Dunkin his own backback.

Cupid on one of our free adventures.

As the year went on we eventually became less poor. I moved out of the vet clinic and started working at a Dermatology office. Charlie passed all of his classes. We both kept looking for actual careers, and then ............ [part 3]

Random thoughts.

... the weather was so nice today. I keep thinking it's spring and then remembering it's only the beginning of March. At least daylight savings time is this weekend.

... We had the dogs at the vet on Friday. Apparently Dunkin is still a porker and needs to lose some weight. We've been giving him a lot of exercise lately so that should help, along with the fact that I just cut his food back again.

This is him now ... after gaining about 10 lbs.

... and this is the slim kid. Many moons ago.

... There are days when I can't remember becoming an adult. It all just feels like a dream. I think I'll wake up and be living dorm room style back in college or [even worse] in the vet clinic again. I feel like the older I get, the faster the years go by. We've been looking at houses and people always ask if we're going to be having kids and how many. I can barely take care of myself! I'm not even married yet! Kids are far, far away. But it freaks me out that I'm entering that stage of life where having kids would be normal. [I still think it's a rude question for a stranger to ask, though.]

... I have had the attention span of a gnat lately. I have so much reading to do for school and I can barely get a sentence in before my mind starts wandering.

... The more time I spend in class the less my major actually interests me. This actually scares the living sh!t out of me because not only did I give up my career and move across the country to pursue this degree but I also uprooted C as well. I'm hoping that this is just a phase and I'll get back into it. Maybe if I stopped being so cynical ....

... I swear Henry is the most awesome dog ever. I realize that everyone says this about their dog but he just has the best personality. He's so friendly, he always makes me laugh, he's such a goofball and has no regard for what he 'should' be doing. He also always seems to be right there whenever I need some company.

Don't all dogs sleep with cats? This is actually his annoyed look. I woke him up.

... I love the quotes on Starbucks' coffee cups. The last one I got was:

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating -- in work,

in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal

critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade

around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your

head as the barrier to your life."

I liked this one because I have a huge fear of commitment. I don't like to live in once place too long, I don't like to stay in a job too long, I like to do something different every day. Ironically the only thing I've ever been able to commit to is C. Our relationship is the one commitment that doesn't scare the crap out of me. It actually makes me feel safe. When I think about having a job for a long time or even living in one place for a long time I feel scared. I like knowing I have the freedom to move or change or just do something different. Maybe buying a house isn't such a fabulous idea ...

... I'm trying to convince C to take a beach trip in July. In North Carolina. He didn't seem too excited about it. We'll see. I don't see what's so crazy about driving 24 hours just to go to the beach.

I could definitely go for some of this right now.

The Newlywed Game

If you know me you know that I have zero interest in cooking. Oh sure, sometimes I feel guilty about it and manage to make a few meals in a row. Usually consisting of pasta, a can of tomato sauce, and frozen broccoli. mmmmm..... I have found that if you vary the types of pasta you use each night you can technically say that you're making something different. "No... see last night was ziti tonight is macaroni. Totally different meals." Now it's not that I can't cook. I can. I just don't like it. In fact ... I'd go as far as to say that I hate it. It's just not my thing.

I always figured that C had accepted this about me. His attitude has really been "I hate cooking too so I can't exactly expect you to be all Susie Homemaker in the kitchen". Well last weekend we were playing the Newlywed Game (by the way if you've never played I personally believe that there should be a disclaimer on the box freeing them from any responsibility should the couple break up). And I think that C brought up my cooking skills at least 5 times. The night went something like this ...

Q: "What's the one thing you would improve about your partner?"

C: Her cooking.

Q: "If you were to raise your partner's [blank] and lower her [blank] your relationship would be drastically improved."

C: Her desire to cook, Her lack of desire to cook

Q: "You love [blank] about your partner but you hate [what]."

C: Her cleaning, Her cooking

Ok, Ok ... I get the point. I guess C would definitely like to see a few more home cooked meals on the table. I can't blame him ... I would too. Meanwhile, I'm staying away from the Newlywed game and serving Subway for dinner. Hey, at least it's healthy.

uh-oh .... watch out for this one!

Life lessons I Learned from My Dog: Part 3

12. Once you get to the top take a moment to stop and appreciate the view.

13. Share your toys becase ...

14. ... if you don't, you might get beat up.

15. Take lots of naps ...

... especially with the ones you love.

16. Live in the moment; you never know what the next one's going to bring you.