It's just all too much...

There’s just TOO MUCH going on in life these days. Obviously my blog has been severely neglected. Some things I just can’t post about. And others I just don’t have time too. This is what’s going on:

*GMA starts on Friday night

*Our company was bought, so we have to move again

*I leave for Europe 1 week from today…HALLELUJAH!!!!

*The day after we get back, I start back at work, in a different building, with a different team

Because of the acquisition…my GMA is 10 times more hectic. I’m not quite sure when I’m going to pack. Thinking about leaving for Europe is very overwhelming. I’m NOT COMPLAINING at all…I will take the overwhelming feeling any day of the week…but A LOT has to be done when you are going to be out of the country for 19 days. Throw GMA between now and then and I’m thinking that this timing wasn’t so smart on our part. OH WELL!!!!

I’m really scared that I’m going to have really bad reverse culture shock when I get back. When I lived in Italy in ’99, I cried for 1 week straight when I got back because I didn’t want to be here. I feel like at the moment…I have more reason not to want to be here, than I did back in ’99. I have already warned Steve that he is going to have to physically force me to get on that plane in Paris to come back.

On a more positive note, I get to meet Andrea the Great on MONDAY!!!! And I also get to see Zabs and Meredith!!! JOY!!!! (Not the person…the feeling, although meeting Joy would be AMAZING!) It can’t come soon enough. Lulu my dear, you will be missed, but I know you will be there in spirit! We will definitely be thinking of you!

I don’t know if I will have a chance to post again before the craziness, but if not, the next blog entry will have a ton of pictures and stories from my trip!

Must Haves

The Enchanting Lulu posted her 5 must haves and has tagged me. Here goes!

Top 5 "Must Haves" for the moment

In my fridge:
1. Yogurt
2. Milk
3. Water
4. Apples
5. Carrot Chips


In my closet:
1. Jeans
2. White Slides
3. Fun Tank Tops
4. Running Sneakers
5. My Favorite Fleece PJ Pants


In my purse:
1. Lip Gloss
2. Cell Phone
3. Hair Rubberband
4. Orbit Gum
5. Granola Bar


In my car:
1. CDs
2. Umbrella
3. Sunglasses
4. Bank Deposit Slips
5. Pen


On my TiVo (if you dont have it make believe...)
1. The OC
2. LOST
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Grey’s Anatomy
5. CSI: NY


What are your must haves?
Sarai
Nicole
Karina

My 4-Legged Frustrations

Please allow me to vent just a bit. This may be lengthy…and might not make sense because I am ANGRY!!! Okay…most of you know…I run 6 days a week. Preferably outside. The past month or so I have braved the cold…and the last couple of weeks have been nice at 7am. My runs are a stress relief for me…a time to enjoy my surroundings and just enjoy life (as cheesy as it sounds). Most of you that know me well…know I’m not a fan of big dogs. Mainly because it drives me crazy that they try to sniff the private region, and are tall enough to do so. I have to do this weird dance to get them to STAY AWAY. But I’m not scared of dogs…it just weirds me out that they do that, and makes me rather uncomfortable. But today…dogs just aren’t my friend!!! This morning on my run I was about half way done…and saw a loose dog wandering around ahead of me. And HE WAS BIG! Now I really can’t stand stray dogs. You never know if they are nice or mean or what. Not to mention…I am always running…so it makes them scared or whatever and they usually just follow you. With small dogs I usually just stop and can get them to go away…or I can just outrun them because they have small legs. But with bigger dogs…it doesn’t work. The faster I run…the more they want to follow me…and they can DEFINITELY keep up. But this dog looked mean. So I thought I would turn around and do a longer run…thinking when I get back to this spot in 9 minutes hopefully he will be gone. Well…he wasn’t. I had already lengthened my run, so I slowed way down…tried not to make any noise…then when I was parallel to where he was…I gunned it…for about a half a mile. Mind you…it’s 38 degrees and my lungs start to burn because of all that cold air. I keep looking back and he is running…right…towards me. I can’t stop sprinting…so I basically kill myself…make it home in 1 piece…and thank God he never got close to me and didn’t harm me. Now…if this was the only time it happened it probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But since I have lived in my house…which is now a year and 3 months…this has probably happened 20 times. I think that averages about once every three weeks. Now let me say…previous to this…in the past 8 or so years…I have probably only encountered 4 or 5 dogs. Can you start to see my frustration?!?!?! It’s my dang neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods that I run in. Last week…I saw a wolf/coyote off in a distance…and about 2 minutes later the same dog I saw today. BIG…BLONDE…MUTT…that looks like he’s a cross between a bulldog and a Labrador. That day…I had to change my course COMPLETELY and run on the main road that has no shoulder so I had to run on the all-terrain next to the whizzing cars. My knees did not appreciate that! Now…the wolf/coyote is a different beast…but all these dogs running around…WHY THE FREAK AREN’T THEY IN SOMEONE’S BACK YARD…or TIED UP TO A TREE?!?!?! It drives me batty that people just let their DANG dogs run around free. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR….this really makes me mad.

I will end it with a story. It’s not a happy story. When I still lived in California I encountered a very interesting situation. I was running a rather regular course, and saw about 6 people standing in a yard with a golden retriever next to them. I saw the golden retriever wasn’t on a leash, but I figured since he was with his family he would be fine. So I continued to run. I ran by them…waved at the family and kept going. About 10 seconds later…the golden retriever must have thought my calf looked like a juicy chicken drumstick because he BIT…MY…CALF. IN SHOCK AND PAIN…I stopped running turned around to a LAUGHING family. Wait…what just happened?!?!? Let’s recap. First of all…a GOLDEN RETRIEVER…the nicest of nice dogs bites my calf. Then the family is LAUGHING?!?!?! They don’t run to me…to see if I’m okay…they don’t scold the dog…just laugh. The dog is just standing there staring at me. (And no he didn’t bite hard enough that it broke skin…thank goodness.) So I did what any upset person would do. I kicked him as HARD AS I COULD…he yelped…I turned around…and ran away. The family stopped laughing.

I’m sorry all of you dog lovers out there…but obviously this is a touchy subject with me. And PLEASE…I BEG OF YOU…don’t let your dogs roam outside…poor innocent runners like me have to deal with it…and honestly…it’s JUST NOT FAIR. Okay…done ranting.

Randumb Ramblings 3.10.06

*I haven’t written in awhile…it’s been an interesting couple of weeks. I don’t really want to go into it.

*I was very sad that Gideon went home last night on American Idol. I personally think Kevin should have gone home…Gideon can out-sing him ANY day of the week. I think that Gideon didn’t get as many votes because he went first.

*Wellness Fact: Research shows that for every hour spent exercising aerobically, you can add 2 hours to your life!

*I had a very random dream. This one is for my girl Hula Seventy. She rocks the Photobooth Fridays. This dream just HAD to have come to fruition because of Photobooth Fridays. Well…this past weekend…I had a dream that I was in line for a photobooth. I was waiting for awhile and was thinking about all the poses I could do. Then it was finally my turn! I got into the photobooth, and I had money…but not the right kind of money. I had dollars, a couple of quarters, and a bunch of other change. Well, this photobooth took quarters only…4 of them that had to be put in at the same time. I only had 2! So I was looking all around the photobooth for some quarters for what had to have been a half an hour (and why no one complained that I was taking so long is beyond me). Finally I exited the photobooth (on the other side from where the line was) and ran away in embarrassment and anger. And that was it. Random…I KNOW!!!

*Snack of the week: Yoplait Light Yogurt with pretzel sticks broken up mixed in. It’s only 3 points…and adds a whole new texture to your yogurt! I was getting to the place where I was kind of tired of yogurt, but this has totally changed everything!

*This week we have heard new music from our brand new band Fireflight. It is SOOO GOOD!!!! Whenever they post new music on myspace…I will have to link it. It’s chick-fronted rock…and it definitely ROCKS!

*Are there any OC fans out there? **Spoiler…if you didn’t watch The OC last night…don’t read the rest of this bullet point!** I don’t know about you…but I couldn’t believe that Ryan and Marissa broke up the way that they did. For all that they have been thru…they just seemed to give up too easily. I didn’t get it! Surely this isn’t the end. It would have had to have been BIG…and DRAMATIC if it were for good…RIGHT?!?!?!?!

*Random AJ Fact: Before my husband Steve…I never had a “Boyfriend”. I dated guys…but never anything so serious that I would have introduced them as my boyfriend. I consider myself lucky! And heck…I ended up with the man that was perfect for me! Now I can see it as a win-win situation. When I was 21 and never had a boyfriend…I used to be mad or sad or whatever. But God ultimately knew what was best for me! And I can honestly say I have never shed a tear over a dumb boy!

*It feels like spring today. Sunny…gorgeous…70 degrees…no humidity…it feels like California…it’s PERFECT! I needed the sun today. Yesterday I was reminded how much I despise Thunderstorms!

*I love the Oscars! So this past Sunday night was fun…even though I hadn’t seen more than half the movies that were nominated. I just love everything about the Oscars. One day I hope to go. Anyways, I really liked the movie Crash…and I cheered LOUDLY when they won movie of the year. It makes me sad that everyone else is all up in arms that Brokeback didn’t win. It’s one thing if they were upset that Brokeback didn’t win…but how all these people questioned the integrity of the Oscars because Crash won. LAME!!!! Sore Losers.

*Tomorrow I am going to a Spa Party hosted by my sweet friend Karina. I have never been to a spa party…but I’m SO READY to be pampered…BRING…IT…ON!!!! Have a great weekend!