busygirl

i'm here.

...and guzzling coffee as usual.  I think I've finally kicked this sinus infection.  Taking a break from the computer and just hanging out with the dog seems to have been the cure.

We had a somewhat busy week...including a very COLD night of volleyball.  It is indeed the end of summer (sob).  And I will have to start wearing socks to play in the sand.  Bah, I'm such a baby when it comes to cold weather.  I'm already thinking ahead to snowboarding season, and figuring out how many hand/feet warmers I need to get for this year.  Yes, I buy them in bulk.  Because even with wearing two pairs of socks and my uber-cold-resistant snowboarding boots, my toes go numb from the cold.  Sticking a feet warmer on top of my toes keeps me going for a good six hours before the cold kicks in.

I don't know if it's the colder weather or just getting over being sick but I'm suddenly very mellow this week.  Very unbothered.  Maybe I'm in an apple juice coma, my other medication of choice.

Regardless, I keep feeling the urge to go buy a pumpkin, plan my halloween outfit and go for a hike.  Gosh, I love fall.

coffee break.

My most vivid fall memory involves driving.  I was headed home for a weekend in October of my sophomore year of college.  Cruising up 71, listening to the latest mixed-CD I had produced.  Sipping a Starbucks latte, which to me is therapy in a cup.  The leaves were deep in changing, brilliant reds, oranges, yellows.  But the air.  The autumn air is what gets me every time.  That brisk, woodsy smell.  I wish I could capture it in a bottle.  Or a candle.  And keep it year round.  It was chilly out but I cranked up the heat in my car just so I could crack the windows open.  I loved how the smell filled my car and surrounded me.  Fall is so peaceful, so slow.

Which is what I need right now.  I'm ready for life to slow down.  To become comfortable again.  So much has happened this summer.  I'm tired of constantly being on my toes.  Of walking on eggshells.  I'm ready to wrap myself in a hoodie and bask in the warmth of those friends, and family, who are are just comfortable.

We finally have a weekend with little to no plans.  Finally.  I'm looking forward to curling up with the pup tomorrow morning, drinking and cup of coffee and hopefully finishing Dracula.  Football season is finally upon us, so all weekend tv will be tuned to Big Ten or ESPN.  We can be lazy and stay in our sweats as long as we want.  That to me is a perfect weekend.

TGIF.  Because I need a weekend to relax.

What are you up to this weekend?

coffee break.

Welcome to this edition of 'Nicole-did-tequila-shots-on-a-Thursday-and-is-paying-for-it-dearly.'  We need to stop making friends wherever we go.  The waiters at our local Mexican dive like us too much.

The dog was a particular pain this morning, delaying my blogging for a few hours.  I don't know if he was spooked by something or just woke up and decided that under no circumstances was he going to let me leave for work without a fight.  Regardless, it was a rough morning trying to get packed and ready while my shadow was on my heels whenever I went.  He even followed me into the bathroom - the dreaded room in our house.  Because that's where he gets, gasp, baths.  Poor pup.

He should be thrilled though.  Because while we're going camping in the rain, he gets to go lounge around at his posh puppy hotel.  While we're cooking processed meat over a fire, he's dining in their 'cafeteria'.  While we're cuddled up in musty sleeping bags, he's snuggled in his fresh linens (that are changed daily).  Oh he's got quite the tough life.

We'll have an interesting weekend without him though - my niece just turned six last week and to celebrate she's taking her whole family camping!  Unfortunately, a small lake effect storm has other ideas, but fingers crossed that most of the rain/wind misses us.  We're headed to a state park in PA to eat s'mores for three days straight.  Ah yes, s'mores.  And mountain pies.  And doritos.  I think I only like camping for the food.  It's definitely not because there's bugs.  I don't do bugs.

Speaking of, I made cupcakes last night for my niece's birthday.  And since she's pretty much the girliest girl ever, I had sneak pink into the equation.  So I picked up a box of strawberry cake mix.  First of all, the mix is PINK.  Luckily the cupcakes turned out a bit less, well, neon.  Second of all, strawberry cupcakes smell atrocious when they are cooking.  Hopefully they taste alright.  If not then I bought Doritos as a backup.  Always be prepared, right?

Yawn.

I'd love to tell you that we had an exciting week, but other than last night, we haven't really left the house.  Or stayed up past 9pm for that matter.  I watched 'Friends with Money' the other day.  Horrid movie.  Don't even bother.

In a coffee bean: Doggy is going to be one pampered pooch, Adam is itching to use his golf umbrella, and me?  Well, I'm in a haze and looking forward to a weekend of s'mores.

How was your week?

coffee break.

It's a venti black coffee from Starbucks kind of morning.  I haven't slept in days.  Thank you early edition of ragweed.  You can leave now.  As I was walking back to my desk, I was remembering the last time I ever splurged on the venti.  A gray, mid-morning Starbucks run during college.  My roommate and I hadn't gone to bed the night before and were spending the day in our room, pouring over books.  Yes, I did study once in a while.  Normally right before tests so these all-nighters were not uncommon.  It's odd how something as normal as buying coffee can bring up a random memory of such an ordinary moment.

This week went by so quickly but so slowly at the same time.  Feeling sick from allergies definitely put a damper on things for me.  But we did (almost) have some exciting news!  Someone we know has some adorable eight week old kittens that need a home.  Of course we jumped on the chance to see if we could adopt one of these furballs.  I took Ricki over to the owner's house last night to meet the kitties and he did okay.  Didn't growl but didn't quite warm up to them.  I expected as much.  So the next step was to bring one of the kittens over to our house this weekend to see how they interacted on Ricki's territory.  But when we got home and Ricki went straight to his bean bag chair, I could tell that he was feeling very territorial.  How could we bring another animal into the house when he is so clearly king-of-the-castle?  So the kitten idea has been put on the back burner for a few years.  Eventually we'd like to have a dog and cat at the same time, but right now snuggles from Ricki are all we need.

Adam's taking the day off today to play in Rover's Morning Glory golf outing.  I can't even imagine what it's going to be like.  I just hope he makes it home in one piece!

That's all I've got for this week.  In a coffee bean: Adam is snoozing till 9, Ricki is commandeering the couch and I'm googling caffeine IVs.

coffee break.

Ahh, only my third week of promising to get up early and reflect on my busy week and I'm already slacking.  Although in my defense, I'm a wee bit under the weather today.  Allergies have hit Ohio hard and me even harder.  Oh trees, when can you and I be friends?

Needless to say, I chose an extra 30 minutes of sleep over 30 minutes of groggily reflecting on all that has happened this week.  Although my extremely active dog felt that sleeping past 5:30am was not an option for humans.  Grumble, when did they start putting caffeine in dog food?

Speaking of the pup, this week involved some conversations around our little rockstar.  Although in stunning health for an old man of 9 years, Ricki is sporting a cataract in his right eye that as of late, seems to be impairing his vision quite a bit.  Although the first few runs in to the wall were humorous, we're feeling bad for the little guy who's struggling with his depth perception.

Surgery is an option albeit an expensive one.  I spent some time researching other methods of treatment and stumbled across an article that mentioned daily eye drops.  Has anyone else gone this route?  Or did you elect for surgery?  I was praying it would clear up on its own (wishful thinking) or that the cataract wouldn't progress to its current state.  However, we're now faced with some decisions to make.  We'd like our favorite pup to run and play without damaging the walls (and his head).  But as with all surgeries, we're a tad bit nervous about the risk and cost associated with the treatment.

In related dog news - stop on over to my friend Lauren's blog and leave her some love.  Her lab, Dixon, accidentally ingested some clothing and is having a bit of a rough time getting everything cleared up.

Adam and I (and Ricki) gave babysitting our nephew Tommy another go this week as well.  In spite of Ricki's hard feelings towards Tommy, he did manage to hold himself together for a few hours.  No rolls of toilet paper were harmed in this playdate.  Nor did our carpet get defiled.  Ricki even managed to sneak up beside my lap (where Tommy was perched) to get a closer look at the tiny human that was hogging his parents' attention.  And then with a deep sigh, turned his head and lay down in discontent.  Poor pup.  He does hate to share.

He has been spoiled though.  Extra walks from Adam to make up for him working late quite a bit this week.  While I'm thrilled that projects are pouring in for him, I have been wondering if we'll ever get to eat dinner before 9pm again.  Apparently we're quite lazy when we eat late and Ricki has been reaping the benefit of fallen scraps.  You won't hear him complaining!

Special thanks for all the wonderful comments on our wedding photos throughout this week!  We are pleased with how they turned out and put forth some extra effort to look pretty for you all.  What can I say, a shower, some makeup and an expensive dress does wonders.  Look for a few more posts over the next week, complete with proof that you can indeed, inhale cake.

In a coffee bean: Adam is working (and playing) hard, the pup never ceases to amaze me with his ability to have an attitude, and I need to live in a world of artificial trees.

How was your week?

coffee break.

More like water break this morning.  Adam and I decided to go on a 'date' last night to our favorite mexican restaurant.  Where good food and good margaritas can always be found.  Along with waiters that LOVE us (clearly we eat there too much) and also love to take tequila shots with us.  Needless to say, I have to rehydrate before I can start my caffeine regiment.

We've had yet another, crazy busy week.  One full of long days of work for Adam.  We went to bed at 7pm one night.  Because we honestly just couldn't stay awake.

I've discovered that my alarm on my blackberry doesn't work.  Fortunately the dog is an acceptable substitute.  He never fails to let me forget that it is 5:30am and he must go out NOW.  Sweet puppy.  Why won't you let me sleep?

This week has been a whirlwind.  And I'm exhausted, but trying to keep my energy going since we have yet another, jam packed weekend.  I honestly am looking forward to fall.  Maybe life will slow down long enough for us to enjoy just sitting.  Not to mention in fall there are hoodies.  Gosh I love hoodies.

Also, frosted mini wheats might be my new favorite breakfast.  It's wheaty, it has frosting and I can eat it with my fingers.  What's not to love?  Move over oatmeal, there's a new guy in town.

In a coffee bean: Adam works too much, the puppy is now employed as my alarm clock, and I clearly have let cereal become the highlight of my week.

coffee break.

I decided that Friday mornings I should wake up earlier.  Fire up my computer and reflect on what a crazy week it's been.

Do you ever feel like you just can't remember what happened?  Monday seems so slow then suddenly a jumbled mess of dinners, volleyball, tv, work assignments and dog walks flies by in a whoosh.  As much as I try to update throughout the week, my brain is simply fried.  You're only getting the bits and pieces that have managed to push their way to the front.  Managed to not escape my memory while others were immediately replaced with important items such as, remember that I left the bathroom trash can sitting on top of the washing machine.  Because THAT was a good idea.

 
Another crazy week has come and gone.  I'm enjoying the silence and a cup of coffee.  What else is new.

The dog is slowly slipping back into old habits.  Part of the reason I'm up so early.  He pawed my back for a good four minutes before I finally dragged myself out of my comfy, snuggly pile of blankets to let him use the restroom.  It was early, way too early.  But I suppose I can't blame him.  When you've gotta go, you've gotta go.  I just hope Monday results in him being back on a normal schedule.  AKA no bathroom breaks until 5:30am sharp.

We practiced volleyball last night for a little bit.  I'm definitely getting better, or at least decent.  No gold medal is in sight but at least I can return a dang volleyball and somewhat provide a good set for others.  Hitting overhand seems to be my downfall.  I'm so ready to hit the ball, then suddenly I'm hopping on one leg and my arm has turned into a limp noodle.  It's not pretty.  I need to do some more pushups apparently.

Speaking of volleyball, I'm a bit on the fence about if I'm going to be playing on one of our teams anymore.  I'll get into that later when more caffeine has hit its mark.

Adam and I celebrated our one month anniversary, a few days late, but still.  Really, it was just an excuse to drink champagne.  I love it, but rarely can convince myself that any old workday warrants opening a bottle.  Especially since once opened, you're committed to finishing.  But it's bubbly and delicious.  And so, champagne we had.

I'm officially printing a retraction for the two grammar mistakes I included in this week's posts.  Obviously not on purpose.  But my grammar-obsessed husband so lovingly pointed them out for me.  Looks like I need to not type while multi-tasking anymore.

We had a training at work this week about time management and making the most of your day.  It ate up half my work day.  When things could be getting done.  Irony at it's best.

IN A NUTSHELL (ahem, coffee bean if keeping with the theme): Dog is restless, Adam loves the bubbly and I will never be an English teacher.

How was your week?