1 Year Daisies!

Justin's not typically the kind of guy who understands why a girl wants flowers. But he did ask me several times over the last week or two if I was SURE I liked/wanted Daisies. And he made sure he knew what Gerber Daisies were. He handed these to me and said "I got those because I figured it had a lot of things that you would like, and I know you like those bright colored daisies".

So maybe he forgot they were called "Gerber daisies", but at least he knew what they were and remembered. :) Now hopefully I can keep Bailey from trying to eat them!

I want to have fresh flowers everyday...

In honor of Spring, I now have a colorful (and sparkly) new layout, and some beautiful shots of my new favorite flower - the Daisy!

Camping Postponed

Justin and I will have been dating for 1 year (I know – hard to believe it’s already been a year) on Thursday, April 30th. That was the first night we hung out and met up outside of work – he invited me to his hockey game. In order to “celebrate” that, we thought it would be fun to go camping as our “gift” to each other. Among buying materials and planning, we figured it would equal out to how much we’d spend on a gift or dinner or something similar. So we were planning on going this weekend from Friday through Sunday.

However, it would appear that we will be canceling our camping trip this weekend and will be postponing it until a later weekend. There are several reasons:

- weather reports call for rain on Saturday, through Sunday morning, in the area we’d like to camp
- most camp sites that take pre-registrations for a site are booked, and those that are “first come first serve” will not work for us because we can not get out of work early enough on Friday to be “first”
- some campsites don’t allow dogs, and I’m DEFINITELY bringing my little “monster” with me. I wonder if those sites allow horses, and I could just say he was a pony if I get caught? (Haha…)
- we still need a tent, tarp, supplies, etc, and would like more time to look into buying/borrowing things
- this gives us more of an advance notice at work if we’d like to ask for a full day or half day off on the Friday we go
- my dad and mom will be out of town this weekend, and I have offered to dog-sit so they don’t have to pay to have him kenneled or keep him in a kennel all weekend

I’m a little bummed, because although it was a week out, it was definitely something spontaneous and we would have spent all week rushing around planning and packing and probably would have had fun. BUT . . . this way allows for MORE time for planning/looking into things to make sure that it’s the camping trip we wanted all the way around! We’ll get to pick a better campsite, the weather may be better, the tent we use may be better quality, etc. Plus, if we wanted to go Memorial Day weekend, we would have plenty of time to reserve a site and plan for that, and how much fun would THAT be?

So my dreams of camping with my new dog will be coming true … just slowly. But they will happen, if we have to camp out in my parents backyard to do it!

Camping anyone?

It’s starting to get warm here, and not to get ahead of myself, but Justin and I are in the middle of planning a camping trip this weekend with his parents!!! Normally, Colorado Springs weather tricks you into thinking it’s ready for Spring and Summer for a week or two and then out of nowhere you get 8 or 9 blizzards. And usually on the weekend. But…I want to go, and I want to take Bailey!

Anyone who’s met him knows he has been quite the, uh, handful. But, over the past year he’s grown up mentally *and obviously physically* and now follows verbal and hand commands easier. He’s amazing off the leash, in regards to coming when called, and he always stops to make sure I’m still there behind him. It’s like he’s saying “hurry up, Mommy!” When he runs ahead and then stops to turn around and look at me, I say to him “I’m coming! Wait for me!”. It’s actually pretty funny, that instead of using the words “stop” or “heel”, I just say “WAIT” and he will stop and wait for me. Or at least slow down.

My earliest concern about taking him camping when I had him last year was that he wouldn’t do well cooped up in a tent. Which was true. However, in camping and especially when it’s warm, he will spend the majority of the time running around in the mountains and woods. And I know *obviously first hand* that after he’s had a lot of physical activity and mental stimulation, that when we get home, he crashes. As long as he can cuddle with me or lay on something fluffy or comfy, he will be fine.

And if we have to stay in the tent for some reason, I feel he’d do fine with that too. I live a pretty slow paced *some would say lazy* lifestyle, and while I take him to the dog park often, I don’t really do much at home. So he’s adjusted to that. If he’s got a bone or toy to chew on, he normally just sits at my feet and entertains himself.

I’m ready to take my Bailey Monster camping. I will definitely post any progress on the planning of the first camping trip of the season! Justin and I are going to Woodland Park tonight to eat dinner with his parents (tacos - mmmm) and plan all the details!

And they called it puppy love...

Just an update...I want to go to the mall every day and play with the puppies. And the mall is about 20 minutes OUT of my way, if not more. I don't, but I still have that urge.

That's bad, isn't it?

:-)

Lazy Saturday

I wanted to blog, but I didn't really have a "special" topic. So I can talk about today, since that's what blogging is!

Today was a pretty slow day, minus the trip to the Jeep dealer. So last night, Justin and I went to Sportsman's Warehouse, and then On the Border for date night. As I was getting out of the car at the store, I go to put my driver's side window up, and I hear a REALLY bad mechanical grinding sound, and then "whoosh" - my window dropped down into the door. As Justin went to help me put it back up, the grinding sound got worse, so we decided to leave it. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the window completely open in my apartment complex overnight, so my dad let me park it in his garage, and Justin drove us to dinner.

This morning, Justin went fishing with my dad at 5:45, so he drove me over to the house where my car was and I stayed there until 8 am, when the dealership opened. I was there until about 9:40, but it wasn't too bad because I played Monopoly on my iPod. :-) And the good news is that there is a warranty on the windows on 2006 Jeep Libertys (because they suck) so it was 100% free to get fixed (so technically it was bittersweet...because my window(s) could break again. But after all that- I still had a Saturday to enjoy!!

I watched 2 of my Bollywood movies (and those are LOOONG!) and took a nap. I was up at 5:00 am afterall. As for the rest of the day...I watched a marathon of America's Next Top Model on Bravo. Definitely a guilty pleasure!

Now we're gonna play some Wii games and eat On the Border leftovers!! Is niiice...

Where have these bright colors been all my life?

Apparently, I’ve been into really bright colors recently. And I think it’s a conspiracy to get me to like them! Normally, I stick to black, grey, blue and occasionally I’ll venture into green or red. Usually, they’re bold colors, and mostly “dark”. But I’m talking about bright blue, bright pink, bright green, etc. Maybe it’s the Spring weather approaching (after about 3 blizzards this month) or maybe I’m maturing – who knows. What I do know is that I’m really digging bright colors! Now, why would I suspect that I was being “bred” to like bright colors?

Case #1: Technically, my mom bought me the kit, but I put it together myself! Every year she gets me some kind of sparkly egg coloring kit for Easter and then it’s up to me to decorate! Here are some of this years eggs (that I haven’t posted yet – oops):


Case #2: Yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day. I provide administrative support to 4 training managers, so I fell under that category. They got me a sparkly card (I’ve trained them well!) and the most amazing flowers that I’ve seen in a LONG time!! I think my favorite flower, the tulip, may have a contender to Gerber Daisies!! (and Starbucks too, but I didn’t think that warranted a picture).

Feel like rain...

It's supposed to be in the 70's and 80's this week, but I'm just in a mood for a rainy day...

More, more, more...

I want another one. Don't get me wrong - I LOOOOVE Bailey! But I'm itching for a puppy!!!

Mailboxes

As part of my job, I design some online courses for our employees. That usually involves image searches for sometimes random things. That’s why I usually post on here with images. I come across some pretty weird pictures, but some just strike me as really visually appealing. I love recieving "snail mail" and (Shh-don't tell my boss!) my mind wandered today when I saw a picture of some mailboxes. I let it continue to wander and did a search for some more. Here’s just a few of my favorites:

Recuperation

No one can imagine how much walking I did this weekend. I simply can not walk today; my legs are so sore. Not to mention my abs, and my arms, and I’m pretty sure I konked my head getting in or out of a car on Saturday and it still hurts. While it was nice to park the car at the hotel and not having to worry about driving anywhere, I definitely underestimated how much walking we would do. Then add in the fact that none of us really knew where we were going, and then add in some drinks (hey – we’re all adults) and it makes it just a little bit fuzzier to get around a strange town. When you walk 6 blocks in one direction, only to realize you meant to go 6 in the OTHER direction, you end up walking about 12 blocks extra to get back where you wanted to be in the first place. That’s an extra 12 blocks too many. And that eventually adds up, especially over a 24 hour period. Thank goodness for BlackBerrys with GPS and cabs!

Justin also has a friend from high school who lives in Denver, and that guy’s brother also lives there, so of course we walked from Coors Field to see their apartments downtown after the game. That added some unaccounted for walking. But it was pretty swanky!

However, I wouldn’t trade this weekend for anything! I did a lot of things I wouldn’t normally get to do on my own, and I laughed the entire time! It’s almost like I wonder how different it would have been if Justin’s friend hadn’t traveled down, or if it was a girls only weekend or something. Definitely still fun, but it would probably be a whole different experience.
So check out some of the awesome pictures below, and you’ll notice how I’m not in most of them, since I was in charge of the camera!

Mini Picture-pa-looza!!

I found my camera cord! So, prepare yourselves!!!


I walked into the bedroom and found Bailey's leash (so that he doesn't bug me when I'm eating) like this on the floor! I SWEAR I did not pose this!

Then Justin went fishing one weekend in Woodland Park and I took a book and got some great reading done!

And finally, I took Bailey and my parent's dog, Baxter, to the dog park back in March!

Stranger

I'm still here! I'm just being very bad about blogging. But I've been doing very well on that resolution so far. Unlike my other ones. It just sucks that I can't find my camera cord otherwise I would have about 20 other posts. So once I find it, or a replacement, then be prepared!

Go Phillies (and Rockies?)

The Rockies Home Opener is next Friday, April 10th, and they play the Philadelphia Phillies! I was never really into baseball until I watched the World Series 2008 with Justin. He’s from South New Jersey, so he’s a diehard Phillies fan. And when I say diehard, I mean even worse that my love for the Stars and Avalanche over the past 10 years combined into every game he watches.



So needless to say, I watched every minute of every single game, and I got into it. He also bought an MLB game for Wii that he now plays all the time (whenever I’m not playing Lego Star Wars) and now I’m familiar with all the players and their names. And I really enjoy it!

We really wanted to go see the Phillies play, and I’m a Rockies fan as well. And hey – it’s opening weekend! He mostly wanted to go because how often to you get to see your home team play in person when you live in another state? We were unable to get tickets to the actual opening day (those things are expensive!) but got tickets to Saturdays game, so we could spend Saturday morning to drive up to Denver. Since it’s a night game, and we’d be in Denver, we thought it would also be fun to stay in a nice hotel overnight to avoid driving back so late, and got a SUPER great deal! That way, after the game, we can go out in Downtown Denver and then we just walk a block or two and that’s it.

And then – one of Justin’s best friends, Greg, from New Hope, PA will be flying in next Friday and will be going to the game with us! He was planning on coming down to visit him in the next few months anyway, and Justin encouraged him to come sooner and to go with us to the game! (Even though he can see the Phillies whenever, because he lives up there, this is still a good excuse to visit). Greg hopped online last night and bought tickets, and will be arriving in Colorado Springs Friday afternoon (which is GREAT – because I already drove all the way to Denver to pick up Justin, so it’s nice that I only have to take a 10 minute drive to the COS airport). Justin wanted to get a Phillies shirt, as do I, and since he knew that we lived in “Rockies-town” and that would be hard to find, Greg offered to pick up some shirts and bring them down here for us! Justin was able to get a half day off from work and I was able to get the whole day off to go pick him up together and show him around town before the game starts at 2:15.

And if that wasn’t enough (oh yea, there’s more) – he was so pumped to be coming out here to visit Justin AND go to the game, that he bought us 3 more tickets for the game on Sunday too!!! So we’ll be sitting club level on Saturday thanks to my bank, Wells Fargo, who sell the tickets half price, and we’ll be sitting club level on Sunday thanks to Greg! It works out perfectly because the game on Sunday is at 1 pm, and Greg’s flight back home is going out of Denver around 7 pm, so we’ll either make it perfectly or early to the airport since we’re right there.

I’m pretty siked!!! But…I still can’t find my camera cord, and I’m definitely going to want some pictures. So if I can’t find it by Saturday, my weekend will be spent at electronics stores to find one!