Sunday, March 29, 2009

LEGOs

LEGOs are making a comeback in my life - hard!! Justin has a Wii, so for fun on Friday night, he told me I could go rent any game I would want to play; my choice. He has 2 or 3 games, but mostly "boy" stuff, that I wouldn't want to play. So, I rented:


Um yea - - - AWESOME!!! There’s something about a video game that reminds you of your childhood and that has unlimited lives!! You CAN’T die. If anything, you lose some points when you “die” but you pop right back to where you were before it happened, and that’s better than most games where you have to start ALL over again.

Anyway, I got so hooked on it, but I knew I’d have to return it because it was rented, so I went with Justin to GameStop and got:

Oh yea!!! Ever since I saw my sister and brother-in-law playing it on their PS2 a year or two ago, I’ve wanted to play it! And this one is the complete “Saga”, so it has missions and charaters and scenes from all 6 episodes!! Is niiiiice!!!

So that’s pretty much how I spent my weekend and how I will probably spend a lot of time in the next few weeks! And I couldn’t be happier!

Friday, March 27, 2009

It's Done!!

I finally finished Rubicon!! It was such an interesting book, and I'm hanging onto it to read it again in a year or two! The next book on my list is a biography entitled "Augusts" - on Augusts Ceasar and by the same author of the biography on Cicero that I own, Anthony Everitt.

To anyone that loves or appreciates history, I highly recommend Anthony Everitt. He's an easy read, but he goes into great detail, so you don't feel you're reading a 5th grade history book. I know he's written 2 books on the Roman history, and he also has a book out about Persia. Go check him out, and start (or continue) reading!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

State of Emergency

Colorado Springs has been issued a state of emergency because of our annual Kick-Off to Spring Blizzard. (That's an unofficial title, by the way). But it happens every year...we get the one last BIG storm before the weather generally improves. So we're homebound this evening, and Justin is even grilling some steaks and shish-ke-bobs!

In the attempt to pass the time, I'm actually working on my Spring reading list. I'm still in the middle of "Rubicon", but I am on the last chapter, and the Republic is about to fall!!! Well, we already know that, but it's still interesting! Anyway, I brought it to work today to read some at lunch, and....definately left it in my desk. I'd hate to start on another book when I'm in the middle of or almost done with another one. But I've got that reading "itch". Especially since I'm home bound.

But, I've got a long night ahead of me. A new My Name is Earl (which is a seperate post in and of itself - I'm hooked!), a new Office and a new 30 Rock! So I'll be occupied until 9 pm or so. That just means I'll have plenty of post-Thursday night line-up reading, and if the storm gets worse and it doesn't look like I'll be going into work, then I will have a lot of time to read tomorrow as well!

Hope all you fellow Coloradans are keeping warm and safe at home!!

I hope to post pictures when I can find my stupid camera cord!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

101 Dog Tricks

And don't think I won't be trying most of them!


I went to Borders tonight to help Justin pick out a birthday present for his boss, and ended up in the dogs section. We naturally look for anything that has a Weimaraner on the front and find this great book:


I can't wait to start training Bailey to do all these really cool things!! The book shows you how to do common things like sit, stay, come, roll over. But it also gets creative. Like...

Take a Bow...


Jump Rope...



And finally, Waving Goodbye!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Weekend Update

Life is almost back to normal. After a very productive weekend, Justin is back in town and work has resumed, as it normally would for a Monday. The weekend really flew by, and it was a mix of fun and feeling productive. But it just wasn’t long enough!!

I am proud to say that I did all but 2 things on my to-do list! I didn’t read my book but I did have quite a few movies stored up, so I watched those instead. And then my jog and book reading took a back-set to the AMAZING weather and I ended up spending more time at the dog park than I thought I would. I was able to get both Bailey and Baxter to the park on Saturday AND Sunday, by myself!! Saturday we spent at least an hour and the dogs were great! It was a nice 72 degrees with the sun out and I was loving the fact that I had gotten up and out early enough to enjoy as much time as I wanted at the park. I love sleeping in, but at the same time, when I get up and get my day started, I feel more productive and fulfilled at the end of the day because I did so much! I even start to run out of things to do before the end of the day.

Sunday I was able to get back to the park, but it wasn’t until 12:30 or so. It wasn’t in my original plan to go that day, but as I was packing up at my parents to “move back” to my apartment, I couldn’t ignore the fact that it was 80 degrees outside! I didn’t see myself wasting my last day of the weekend inside cleaning and unpacking, so I grabbed the dogs and went to the park! Since it was hotter than expected in direct sunlight, the dogs and I got tired more quickly than we did on Saturday so we only stayed 30-40 minutes. However, they enjoyed the creek, so that was a great chance for them to cool off!

I was able to completely clean the apartment, take a shower, and even watch some tv before I headed out to Denver to pick Justin up. His flight was arriving at 8:30, so I left the Springs around 6:30 to get some gas and cash for tolls, and arrived roughly at 7:45. The Denver airport is great, because they have tons of restaurants, bars, and shops for people to enjoy OUTSIDE the gates! At most airports, you have to have a boarding pass to get through and then you can enjoy all the shops, but DIA has that all outside Security, so people waiting to pick-up or for their flight get to enjoy themselves too. (The D/FW airport could learn a thing or 2!!) It was a late night though…arriving back home at 10:45 and not getting to sleep until after 12. And I had to be at work at 7 am today!!!

All in all, I had a great weekend and wish all of them could be that nice!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

I'm sticking to the plan!

Well i't 3 pm in Colorado Springs, and I've already taken the dogs to the park, watched another movie, and have clothes in the dryer. I'm making a dent on my list! I'm actually about to get started on picking up the house, then probably another movie. It's sad knowing my friends and family are out enjoying themselves, but at the same time I'm really enjoying getting little "honey do" things done.

It's hard to get to them throughout the week, but the weekend is a prime time for that. It's great!

I'm off to read/clean and wash some dogs!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Everybody’s Gone for the Weekend

At this moment in time (in my life), my mom, dad and boyfriend are all out of town. All of my options for entertainment are currently not viable options, so I am forced to find my own alternatives. It’s like a blessing and a curse – I have the freedom to do whatever I want, but I have so many options, that I can’t decide what to do, and I’m afraid that eventually, I’ll end up coming out of this weekend having done nothing I wanted to at all!!

I have actually written out a list of things I want to get done this weekend, but at the same time, I don’t know what to start with! As of 4 pm today until 9 pm Sunday night, I can do the following:

- dog park
- clean the apartment from top to bottom
- clean the house (the areas I used)
- catch up on my Spring Reading List
- blog
- go for a jog or two
- laundry
- organize at least 2 closets in the apartment
- watch movies I’ve bought but haven’t watched yet or go see Slumdog Millionaire, or watch My Name is Earl on DVD
- nap

For those of you who know me well, I’m a planner. I like to plan out as much as possible of my days, and then if something doesn’t take as long as planned, it’s like I’ve “earned” some free time. Part of me wants to sit down and schedule times for me to do all of the things to do on my list. I’m a practical thinker when I plan and try to multi-task my “chores” by organizing them all so that it all gets done in the most logical amount of time – for example, I can watch my movies tonight, and then the dog park first thing tomorrow so that they’re tired out, and then I can read a book while they’re sleeping. Then when they’re running around the backyard, I can do my laundry and clean up the house. The apartment can be Sunday. And so on.

I know. Nerdy!

But, I’m also a procrastinator. If I can wait until the last possible minute to do my “planned list”, then I will! When I can’t figure out where to start my planning, I stress! That’s not to say that I’m losing my mind right now, but Planner Karen is getting annoyed with Procrastinator Karen and I’d just as soon avoid them both completely!

Fortunately, work has kept me busy during the day this week, but I’m so bored at night without my “options” in town, that my mind wanders!!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Ho Hum.

I am sorry for not posting, for those of you who actually read this.


Other than work keeping me pretty busy, there isn't much else going on.


Justin left yesterday to spend 5 days with his old friends from college in New Jersey and Philly, so I'm afraid that I'm actually pretty bored. Normally he keeps me pretty well entertained, and now that he's in another state, I'm finding that it's harder to pass the time!! :)


In the meantime, I'm also dog sitting for my parents, and I'm staying at their house with the 2 dogs. Bailey is WAY overactive, and poor Baxter can't really handle him for more than 5 minutes at a time. And I'm finding that I can't handle the 2 of them together at the same time!!! It's a mad house!

So, I find myself with two noisy dogs who have both finally calmed down enough for me to watch my Thursday night, line up - Bones, The Office, and 30 Rock. I'm off to enjoy them!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Premature Spring Cleaning

Even though it's March in Colorado Springs, it has snowed twice in the last week. So it's hard to get the Spring Cleaning bug. However, the apartment was getting messy fast. Mostly clutter, but it was things that don't seem like clutter at the beginning, and they tend to add up to a lot!

But now, after 2 hours of putting the nose to the grindstone...The apartment is finally clean!!
Well, mostly. I didn't take a picture the other way. :-) The bedroom and closets are tomorrow night.
But I feel 99% better each time I walk through the front door! And I'm out in the living room more anyway.
I'm also looking forward this weekend, because Justin and I are going up to 11 Mile on Saturday. He's going fishing, and I'm tagging along with one of my Spring Reading List books, and we'll spend a nice day outdoors catching up on things we love! (That is, if the weather cooperates!)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Owen Scott Brekenfeld

Welcome to Baby Owen! He was born right before 4 pm Mountain Standard time (that's 5 pm TX time) on Monday, March 9th and he was 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20 inches long!

I "borrowed" these from my brother in law's Facebook page, but here's Owen!

Proud parents!

Here's the baby boy!

Big sister Sophia!


Big sister Emma!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Weim-a-Palooza

Normally I would put this on Bailey's blog (which can be found by clicking here), but I had such a great time, and technically it was a day in my life as well. Enjoy our afternoon at the dog park!




Today was a day of Weims! Normally I can go a few weeks without seeing other Weims at the park, but sometimes when it rains, it pours! Today we saw at least 6 other Weims, and I just happened to have my camera, so I got some pretty memorable moments on film!



So I take out my camera for my first shot, and Bailey knew exactly what it was!


We first ran into 2 young ladies (1 was about 2 years old and the other was around 7) who Bailey wanted to check out. Of course he basically dwarfed them - and their owner was so surprised to see a Weim so big that he took out his camera to film Bailey!!


Everytime we go, Bailey always abandons me and finds alternative "mommys" to adopt him. Whether they want to or not. Here he is with his first choice of a new "mommy" - playing with his favorite thing...a stick.

So if that wasn't enough, Bailey spots a poor, innocent child who was collecting sticks and decides, hey! I want that big one! So he steals it from him. After the kid finally stops freaking out because Bailey is about 80 lbs bigger than him, Bailey takes over. (that's the kid in the background. He really wanted his stick back!)


Once he steals the stick, a Golden Retriever in the area approached and starting playing Bailey's 2 all time favorite games - Keep Away, and then when you finally get a hold of the stick, Tug of War. It was so adorable!!!



Then after he got a few laughs from other dog owners, some more Weims showed up! This time we got to see a "Blue" one! Here he is with more of his new friends, both human and canine! You can see him with his second adopted "mommy".




And then we make it home after a few more errands, and this is how he spent the rest of his afternoon...

He's living the life, isn't he? :-)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Springtime is here!

Forecast for today: Slight chance of rain



Welcome to Colorado Springs. Loves it!

I think it's snowing just for my new nephew to be - Owen! My sister is being induced on Monday and her little boy will finally be here! Love you all! Send lots of pictures! And for those of you that read this, please keep my mom, who is traveling there today, and my sister in your thoughts and prayers that they both stay safe and healthy!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Spotlight on…

My 25th Birthday - My birthday week has finally come to an “official” close. I received the last few cards and presents, and all in all – I’m excited to be 25!! It was a wonderful week, and I feel very loved! The hat and coffee mug my co-workers chipped in for arrived on Tuesday, and the HAT FITS! I was concerned since it was a “One Size Fits All” hat. I have an unusually small head (hey – I’m a girl! Most of us do!) and the one size usually starts around 1 or 2 sizes too big for my head. But I tried it on at work, and it fits like it was meant for me! The other problem with me and hats is that sometimes it comes with an extra tall forehead area, and it looks like a trucker hat on me. This one…well, see for yourself! No trucker head!



My New Books - My brother Brian sent me a very thoughtful gift. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a certain fondness (ok, obsession) for all things Ancient Rome. Brian and I share a mutual love for reading, so over Christmas, I was telling him about the books I had just bought. He must have remembered that, because he sent me an biography on Augustus Caesar for my birthday by an author who had written another book I already had. But…I already had it – bummer! (Told you I was obsessed!) He also apparently figured that I would, because he mentioned that he would include the gift receipt so I could exchange it. I went to Borders last night and exchanged it for:

And here is my official Spring/Summer reading list (aka: books I’ve purchased and haven’t gotten around to reading/finishing):
Clockwise from far left:
1. "Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Leigon and the Armies of Rome" by Stephen Dando-Collins
2. "Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic" by Tom Holland
3. "Augustus" by Anthony Everitt
4. "Roman Warfare" by Adrian Goldsworthy
5. "The Private Lives of the Roman Emperors" by Anthony Blond



I'm looking forward to the next few months!! WOO HOO!

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Weekend

What can I say. Today was Monday. Friday night was a work "party"...one of the Training Managers (Matt) had invited a few people over for some drinks and food. His wife is an AMAZING cook and made a ton of things from scratch. Justin and I got to talking with them, and even though everyone else left around 10, we ended up talking with them until 12 or 12:30 am! And then she packed up some of their food and sent it home with us!! They just had so much food left over, she wouldn't let us leave until we took about 5 or 6 plates!! It was AWESOME!


Saturday was spent sleeping in and then taking Bailey to the dog park. I was there for at least an hour and I love those trips ... because when we get home he takes a nap for at least 2 or 3 hours. I'm starting to think he's out of shape. Either that or since he's just over a year old that all of the smells, and sounds, and sights, and other dogs just tend to overload him. Half the time he can't even make it all the way home in the car before he passes out. It's freaking cute!

Then the rest of the day and Sunday were lazy days. I did get Bailey back to the dog park on Sunday for another hour, but I really enjoy going there. Not just for him, but also because I enjoy seeing him have so much fun and I love seeing all the other dogs! I can't wait for next weekend when I can go back during the day when the weather is great! During the week, I can't really take him after work because I get home around 4:15 and the sun starts to go down at 5. And I don't get to the park until at least 4:30. and I don't feel that 30 minutes is enough!

So, if you aren't jealous yet, here's a picture of my favorite dog park in the area to take Bailey to. Bear Creek Dog Park!!