Good Morning

Good morning from hot and steamy Oklahoma!  The temps this week are predicted to hit hundred to a hundred plus starting today through Friday.  Can we all say, "UGH!".  If the summer  temperatures end up anything like last year's, Jon and I may consider emigrating to another, cooler location. I still haven't won my argument to live in Europe, but, I have broken him down to Canada.  One step at a time, eh?

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So, as I enjoy the last bit of my coffee on our front porch, I'm going to just have an all out brain dump if you don't mind.  So much has been happening, and I feel the need to clear out my head.  Brace yourselves, this could get messy.

 Pride and Prejudice, in French.  I flip back to the English version when I'm lost... I'm not that good!

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First thing on my mind are my, still, incredibly sore arm and upper body muscles!  I started working out with a trainer in February, every Friday, as I was having a persistent psoas strain.  I couldn't figure out what in the world I was doing wrong in dance to cause this issue.  I'm happy to report that, the strain has gone away, I've gotten stronger, fitter, and am learning how to train and take care of my body better than before.  My Irish dance teacher has noticed a difference too, so double win.  I love the intensity of my workouts, but, dear Lord I do not like the soreness.  It's so bad this weekend that I still can't fully extend my arm and lock in my elbows?  How sad is that?

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My muscles did not benefit from the extensive yard/garden work Jon and I did yesterday.  Did I mention we have been working out tails off to elevate our yard and garden from a neglected/abandoned state to work in progress?  We started a little late, May, but, we are nearly done with the beds and we hope, that we can make a patio happen in the backyard before summer's end, so we can enjoy some outdoor living.  I have had romantic notions of sitting outside, enjoying dinner, and some wine, looking at a lovely the backyard or front yard (as you can tell from the picture above) and just enjoying slowing down and taking in the world around me.  Is that silly?  I will be posting pictures soon to give you an idea of what we've been up to out there.  I feel kind of, well, odd that I've gone all gung ho for gardening.  I used to hate it as a child, even though I adore flowers of all varieties.  After two years of looking at the depressing landscape that was our yard I decided it wasn't going to look pretty unless we did something about it, or struck it mondo big, and pay for someone to exorcise the weeds and shabby bushes from our neglected beds.  And, yeah... that last one, wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  I should be grateful for my trainer, though, I don't think I would've been able to do half of what I have done if it weren't for the strength I've developed.  I guess, in that way, it's worth the pain, huh?

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Also on my mind, is the road trip to Chicago Jon and I will embark on this Saturday.  That's six days and counting folks!  I'm super excited about this trip because, not only is it the first time Jon and I will go on a legit vacation (don't get me started how sad it is that it took seven years to do it!), it will be a week full of Irish dance mania as the Nationals are being held there that week.  Oh, did I mention it's in CHICAGO??  I did?  Can you tell I'm excited by that?  

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This trip has been fun to plan as I've never really planned out one like this before.  We had to book a hotel room WAY in advanced, figure out driving, had to find a place to park our car cheaply once in Chicago (mega challenge btw), we will be getting public transit passes which I haven't done since living in Japan.  Being foodies and watching tons of travel and food shows, we've looked up places to eat and we are overwhelmed by all of the options.  We also plan on going by the Navy Pier near our hotel and we have more than one option to do something on the 4th of July.  I'll also be hanging with my awesome Irish dance peeps, get some dance shopping in, seeing some AMAZING dancing, but, at the same time I'll get to enjoy Jon's company, and then go out with him in between all of that.  Oh, yes, and doing all of those fun things within a reasonable budget. The only hitches left are getting the house sorted, getting the key to our cat sitter, making sure we get enough supplies for the trip, getting the dogs situated,  and figuring out what to do with Leo.  His health scare has put a bit of a delay on partnering, which was planned on happening very soon.  I'd love to take him with me, but, I need to check with Therapetics to see if they're comfortable with that idea.  I can't blame them for not wanting him to be out of state, even though he is getting healthier by the day.  So, some things have to get figured out and more manic work will be done in the following days to get ready for this trip, but, I think it will be worth it.

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Oh, quick mention.  I'll be getting another puppy to start training with Therapetics.  It'll be so sad to see Leo go, but, you know he's such an amazing service dog and he genuinely loves to work.  It'd be a shame for him not to be partnered.  So, I must let go so he can be happy and fulfill his 'destiny' (gawd I watch way to much Sci Fi/Fantasy stuff lol).

Speaking of Mr Leo, here's a cute shot of him and the other dogs chillin' with me on the porch.  I don't think I've introduced you all to the little beagle in the corner.  That is Miss Penelope, Penny for short.  Jon and I saw her, in April, walking along side a busy street as we were pulling out of a our parking spot.  Jon got out of the car and literally scooped her off the street and the poor baby was just so stressed out.  We had no luck finding her owners in any ads, and she doesn't have a microchip, despite being a purebred beagle.  The biggest stressor was that, at first, it appeared that she was preggers!  However, a vet's visit later we found out she was actually going through a false pregnancy; probably due to being very stressed out while she was in heat.  How wild is that?  She has since been spayed and she has steadily learned to relax and enjoy being a dog.  You can tell, she was probably left outside and neglected for quite some time; for example, it took us nearly a month just to get her to accept treats from our hand without cowering.  How sad is that?  I'm glad Penny has joined our small zoo as she has a very laid back temperament and doesn't take up too much space.  She's so sweet,  and I like to think she is glad she's here too.

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Alrighty, that's it for my little brain dump.  Sorry if this post has no cohesiveness whatsoever, but, some days are just like that.  I've gotta get to some errands and more yard work.  Can you hear my aching muscles scream with delight?  You can't?  Hmmm... funny thing is, neither can I. ;-)  I hope you, my dear friends, are having a lovely weekend and I wish you a pleasant start to the week.  Bisous tout le monde!

Good News Everybody!!

A couple of weeks ago, I made mention of some potentially exciting life stuff. Well, now I can share what's going on as the plans are in motion. A couple of weeks back Jon called me from work and asked what I thought about him working towards becoming a patent attorney. I didn't hesitate in expressing my 'approval', if you will, of that idea. Jon loves technology, new toys and such. He has always read blogs and articles pertaining to emerging technology from computer software to biotechnology. He also is artistically inclined to boot. This job field would allow these passions to merge with his schooling, not to mention, an increase in pay and opportunity as being a patent attorney is a fairly exclusive field within the legal world.

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Our excitement led to a LOT of research. Once again I say, thank God for Google! We found out that Jon would have to go back to school to gain enough science credits to qualify for the patent bar exam. The requirements vary, giving you three-four different science class combinations. Jon decided that eight hours of consecutive chemistry courses combined with twenty four hours of various biology courses would be best, and shorter option for him. It will take roughly a full year to get all he needs out of the way, if he went to school part time while still holding down his full time job.

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Next, Jon had to gain permission from his firm to be allowed some time to pursue this. Many classes he can take during the evening and there are even some courses that are offered for several hours on a Saturday. However, not all classes will be that convenient so he needs the ability to go to a morning or afternoon class during the work week. Much to our delight, Jon was given the green light to go for it. Fortunately, Jon works in the pre-paid legal division, so he isn't always having to worry about heading to court for stuff. He mainly deals with clients over the phone and writes a lot of letters on his behalf. Thanks to his ability to do all this quickly and well, gaining permission to go back to school was, to use the phrase, easy as ABC.

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Last we had to figure out a cost effective way of doing this. Though our Alma Mater offers all the courses Jon needs and is easy to get to, it's impractical as it is expensive and Jon isn't going after another degree, just some classes. We decided that going to the local community college downtown, near Jon's work office, was the place to start. Once he got his basic requirements out of the way, he will attend an Oklahoma public university that has a satellite campus in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma- a 20 ish minute drive away from our house. We've already been in contact with them and they have informed us that whatever credits Jon takes at the community college will be accepted, no problem. Both of these options won't cause us a lot of financial distress even when you take getting books into account. Jon's father has even offered to chip in for some expenditures if need be.

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So we are good to go! I'm so, so excited and nervous about this. It is about time that we start taking the steps to being productive adults! This process will take probably up to a year and a half as Jon has to, obviously, get the requirements and then take the grueling exam and pass that. I think he's up for it, as Jon is not one to commit lightly to anything. I'm hopeful that this won't be too difficult of a journey, and that cutting back on my after school piano lessons will help us during this 'phase'. I may even have to cut back more, but, we're going to see how things go through December and go from there. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

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Anywho, that's the big exciting news that I was holding back. Wish us, mainly Jon, lots of luck! School starts next week!!

Bring on 2011!!

What are you doing this New Year's Eve? I will be partying it up with some friends at Jon's. Baked brie, raclette (I got an awesome Swiss made grill for Christmas), fondue, and a chocolate fountain (borrowed, we weren't going to splurge for a rental) are all on the menu. Of course, there is to be wine and after dinner liquors, and any other beverages our friends may bring. As I've told many people we're sending off 2010 and ringing 2011 in style.

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In random Oklahoma weather news, yesterday the temps hit 70, there was a tornado warning in the middle of the night, it's windy this morning as a cold front is beginning to move through, and tonight the temps are supposed to drop into the 20s and apparently a winter weather advisory has been issued for later tonight.

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I guess Oklahoma wants to send off 2010 and ring in 2011 with some flair too!

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Happy and Safe New Years to you!! May 2011 be filled with many joys and triumphs. I look forward to the new year and I count myself lucky to have so many friends willing to ride along. As the French say, gros bisous!! See ya next year!

A Little Interlude

Mina on top the Ann Taylor box (my gift). What can I say? The cat has good taste.

Yes, I know, I am not writing more Christmas memories. I will continue those I promise, after all I have until January 6th (Epiphany signifying the last of the 12 days of Christmas) to get all those Christmas memories in there! This is just a little update what I've been doing lately. The current Christmas memories I'm forming right now if you will.

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I have been taking care of lots of Christmas business since I went on break. I am happy to report that the load of shopping with Leo in tow was not only successful in terms of his training and present getting, but, actually fun. I know, Christmas shopping in major stores and a mall a week before Christmas doesn't seem like it would be fun, but, people seemed more friendly and happy to see Leo in the stores. That and I was given wide berth thanks to the service dog 'attatchment'. Made things a lot easier for me.

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Today I'm taking care of a sick boyfriend and getting things cleaned up around here. I'm happy to report, this house is almost as clean as pre-sick, worn out due to work me! Woo hoo!! Okay, the laundry still needs to be done, but, there are enough clean clothes to keep going. Presents have been wrapped, a Christmas activity I love to do. In fact, I used to be the 'family wrapper' of sorts. Not only could I wrap gifts well, I also had a horridly messy closet and under bed where the little treasures could be hidden until I got around to wrapping. In fact, one year I managed to hide wrap an industrial sized car jack that weighed God knows how much. Fun story, but, not an feat I'd like to repeat any time soon.

Louie and Leo tired after lots of playing. I'm pretty sure, Lou likes having us around all day.

Baking activities will be commencing Thursday at Jon's parent's home. After the scare Jon's mother had last week (hospital visit, but, all turned out a-ok) we are making sure to spend plenty of time with her this season. I plan on baking chocolate and chocolate and peppermint macarons and palmiers and maybe make another from scratch pumpkin pie. I will also be getting a visit from my brother soon too. This is turning out to be a great Christmas for me despite all the busyness of work. There's a real tree, many decorations, lots of music and Christmas movie classics, and a sense of happiness at the thought of being around loved ones sharing food, laughter and good times. I'm feeling quite lucky and blessed this season and I hope you are feeling the same too.

Post-Script

I was going to find a picture of a person running with joy out of a building as that is what I felt like when I began my fall break yesterday. As I was searching Google images I remembered what annelise put on her blog the other day, the image above. Then I got to thinking (dangerous sometimes I know)... Despite how I am, at times, overwhelmed at what I see and feel due to my job and everyday life, it's good to be reminded of what I have. To pause, and think, and simply be grateful for all the wonderful things I take for granted sometimes.

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With that in mind, the image above, just seemed like the better picture to post.

Thanks go to Anna Walker who filled me in how to post this image in such a way it all shows up!

Well.. Wow...

Ignore my last entry would you? I just got a call. At first I was told I wasn't going to get one of the positions at the elementary school. As my heart sank, the school secretary asked me to wait as the principal was asking her a question. She then asked me, "Well, are you interested in the para position still?" It took everything in me not to scream "HELL YES!" As soon as the secretary relayed I was very interested she came back with, "Well, you're hired!!" AHHH!! :D

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As long as the paperwork and drug screening process goes smoothly, I should start in the next couple of weeks. Oh my goodness what a ride this has been!!

Parting Thoughts

It's my last day here at the studio being the uber gopher (my nickname for my exec. assistant job). This morning when I woke up, I was tired, cranky, and quite reluctant to do much of anything when I got to work. But, you know what I decided I would go leave this position on good terms. I sent off many emails with vital information, organized what I could, and cleaned the place up. Though I'll be damned if I'm going to stick the trash in my non a/c car and take it somewhere to be disposed of as we don't have a trash bin in back!

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So, this is it. In less than 10 minutes, I'm officially done and go back to being a piano teacher. This position has been a ride, great at times I learned a lot. However, in retrospect it was quite frustrating overall. I could point fingers, but, in the end what happened happened and things worked out the way did not because of one thing, but, because of many things. Most of those things, were completely out of my control. This last week has been really bittersweet for me. However, that doesn't mean I have to become bitter. I will make peace with this loss in time and in the meantime work my butt off to get to where I want to go. Life will improve because, by gosh by golly I'm going to make sure that it does. Darn tootin'. ;-)

Sometimes You Just Gotta Smile

Leo can smile even in his sleep. My gosh I love it when he has funny sleep faces!

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After yesterday's rather down in the dumps post I told Jon to help me draft a letter to the partners at the studio informing them I would be looking for work and may not be able to stay as a teacher in the capacity that I have been. I just needed to get that out there so I wouldn't have to deal with the worry of telling them any longer. At first I thought I would deliver that letter at the end of my tenure (ie this Friday), but, then I went to work and was greeted by one of the partners and her kids. I was happy to see her of course as she has just moved back to the Tulsa area. However, it took everything in me not to break down and cry. I wanted her to come back so I could have her help me create systems for the business and help get things more organized. And here she was sitting there talking with my boss about business, her kids running around, and smiling at me as if nothing happened.

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I decided then I just needed to get it out there and inform the partners of my intentions sooner as opposed to a couple of days later, as it would be one less burden to carry around. So I did, my letter was sent off around 4:30pm yesterday- and I have yet to hear anything from anyone. That's alright though, I did it to help myself they can or won't respond, that's not up to me. A feeling of relief has begun to set in and today after reading some more kind comments and looking around the house I feel a sense of clarity that I haven't felt in months. I am looking around at how messy my things are, okay it's not THAT bad, but, my stuff is here there and everywhere. I am looking at these piles and instead of feeling overwhelmed and apathetic, like I have been, I actually want to pick stuff up and get my s*** together. Say it ain't so!!

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Is this a sign that things are beginning to turn a corner for me? Perhaps. Whatever it is I will take as an opportunity to start straightening things out for myself and smile at the realization that this moment in my life is not all sad, but, it is also a gift. A gift of being able to turn a leaf and get to something better. Getting to that better thing, whatever it is, may take awhile though and it probably won't be so easy at times. However, I have so many good things and people in my life that will be with me along the way... reminding me again to smile.

Feeling Some Serious Love... and Pain

Lake Oklmulgee via some website about US scenic sites. The scene of some MAJOR fun yesterday.

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Friday was the pits, I mean The.Pits. First, the electric bill was WAY higher than needed despite me never being at the new place my roomie and I moved into (I've been at Jon's since Leo's accident as there's more room to manuever and take care of a lame lab). My roomie apologized profusely blaming her lack of knowledge on how to use the thermostat which was fixed when her father came over thank GOD! So, thanks to that snafu, the bills were at least a hundred bucks more than anticipated, if not more. While that isn't a huge amount it certainly is enough to make me panic as I'm going to be poorer next month. Of course, to make things more interesting I need to get my laptop repaired before the plug in jack goes kaput- which will probably set me back nearly 130 dollars and put my laptop out of commission for a week. Add in the fact that my roomie got a raise (much deserved btw) I landed into a deep, deep funk. Jon had 10 year reunion stuff to do this weekend so I wasn't going to have much time with him and that kinda made it worse. Because, again, I was one major funk

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When my friend called me up asking me if I wanted to go the lake Friday and jet ski with her hubby and some mutual friends the next day you can imagine how excited I was. Saturday morning I was scheduled to be a volunteer at a dog agility competition at the school where I learned to train Louie. It was actually quite fun and a workout as I was given the position of running back and forth to reset equipment after every competitor. So I did that, and it was good, as the tasks took my mind off of things. After I was through with that I came home to get ready to go to the lake! My friends picked me up, we picked up neccessary supplies (water, beer, you know the essentials for going to a body of water), and were off to Lake Okmulgee (about an hour south of Tulsa) with two jet skis in tow and an intertub that would hold two. Just right to go tubing using a jet ski.

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You can only imagine the amount of wipeouts that occured yesterday! Oh.My.Gosh! I am in pain today, but, it was beyond worth it. My friends and I had such a blast and I was reminded why I love the lake, or any other body of water for that matter (I used to live in the lake during the summer we lived next to when my family and I lived in Michigan). Not even the loss of my new pair of Target sunglasses, lost due to me being thrown into the lake off of a jet ski head first after a wicked turn, dampaned the amount of good feelings I was having. After tons of fun in the sun, far too many wipeouts and laughs, we headed back, ate pizza, buffalo wings, and ice cream to compensate for the calories burned while on the lake, and drank a bit more. I was one happy, tired zombie when I finally got my carcass to bed around 2am.

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Today when I rolled out of bed, got coffee, and turned on the laptop (yes, pretty much in that order) I went to my Blogger Dashboard page to see what I missed. Comments from friends who were sending out some love and good vibes were waiting for my approval. Between hearing the words, 'We're there for you" and "We'll support you through this" yesterday from my friends, and all the comments I've recieved during this time on this little 'ol blog, I am feeling some majorly good luv and vibes right now (despite the fatigue and aches everywhere in my body today lol). You all are seriously the best!! I know it's gushy and cheesy to say this, but, you guys mean a lot to me. I know most of us have not met in person, so it just blows me away the support all of you are giving me. Saying thank you is not enough, but, it's all I can do for now! So THANK YOU!! Sending out good cosmic vibes, as Sara Louise would say, and thanks to wherever you may be.

Cuteness Break

To say Leo's recovery has taken over my life, and my blog, is an understatement. I appreciate all the well wishes, btw! Leo is recovering, but, as he's off of sedatives now the situation has changed. He's more bored, more vocal, less cooperative, and feeling the need to run if allowed. Yeah, so it's to the kennel Leo goes. He doesn't like it and I can't blame him. But his persistant whining and clanging into the cage with his collar is fraying my nerves.

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Next week is the studio's summer break and I'm trying desperately to hang in there until then! So, too keep my chin up I had a brilliant idea. Post cute puppy and kitten pictures. That'll lift your spirits I thought. Now prepare yourself... if you hate cuteness do NOT scroll down!

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You have been warned....

8 week old Leo. The day after Therapetics gave him to me to raise. He still has those jowels btw. Feeling cute happy feelings already!

Louie at about five months (one month after I got him). O-M-G!! This is before he became a fluff ball. I love his little puppy sit and expression! Just too much.

Oh gawd!! This makes me want another kitten. Like bad! Mina was about six weeks. She is still freakin cute. Dang... I have some cute animals around here!

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I do feel a bit better. I knew this would work! Hope it helps you all too. Whether it be a bright spot in a gloomy day or just another thing to smile about during a good one.