Friday, March 19, 2010

My babies

On Wednesday, Cheryl and I went to a couple pet stores and an animal shelter to look at puppies and dogs for her. The pet store was cute because all of the puppies were as young as can be and they were adorable to look at. The first two we played with... a lahpso apo or something like that, was cute but I only lasted a few minutes with it because all it wanted to do was bite my toes and ankles. (I never knew "ankle biter" was a real thing!) The next was a chocolate lab, who also just wanted to chew and wiggle out of my arms when I tried to hold it. The third was a beagle, which is what Koko is half of we think, and she was as sweet as can be. She chewed a little, which is understandable because they're all puppies, but she also stayed in my arms and was sweet! I love beagles.

When we went to the animal shelter, though, that was what really was important. All of the dogs there were full-grown, and most were fierce breeds, but all of them had a story of some degree and needed homes. The puppies need homes, too, of course, but they didn't have homes already and were given up or abandoned or forgotten or abused.

It really made me think of Koko. We don't know how old she was, we don't know where she was before we got her. We got her from the SPCA in Virginia Beach, and they actually had no information on her at all except the word, "Stray." There was a while there when I believed she'd been mistreated because I would go to pet her and she would wince a little. She was definitely stressed... she was missing fur on her backside where she'd chew at herself from anxiety, I assume.

Just a minute ago, I thought of it and almost teared up and hugged her. She's the best dog I've ever had, I think (of course I love Bear, too!) and I hate to think of her alone in the world, or with owners that don't care about her and hurt her. She's so sweet and loving. The other day she was limping around, she must have irritated her leg or hip outside playing, and for the rest of the afternoon and evening she followed RIGHT by my side every second. If I was in one room, she was right next to me... if I went into another room and then came back, she didn't wait for me or lie down, she was RIGHT there at all times. When I went to bed, she didn't go sneak with Bear as they usually do to sleep on the futon or the couch, she was right there by the side of the bed, so instead of getting into bed, I took a pillow and lay down on the floor with her for a few minutes.

When she broke her pelvis in 2007 after running after a bird and being hit by a car, we were living in the townhouse in Virginia Beach, I moved the futon mattress downstairs and slept with her on the floor because she couldn't walk up the stairs (she could barely walk at all). I think of how much that set her back and how far she's come since then. It seemed then like there was no way she'd ever walk again, but after four weeks she was pretty much healed! It was to the point before that where I would take her out to go to the bathroom and she would be squealing the whole way and it just broke my heart.

She and Bear are like our babies. Anything that happens to them is devastating to us. I was just miserable when Koko got hurt that year. Since then, I haven't taken her off her leash for one second outside unless she was fenced in. Luckily, we found a house with a big back yard that we could easily fence in for her to have plenty of room to play on her own without us worrying. She's part beagle, like I said, and they're big on hunting (once she caught a bird in MID AIR) and no matter how much I call her and how obedient she is at other times, if she spots a squirrel or a bird or a bunny, she's gone and can't hear a word I say.

We have a serious ladybug infestation right now. They are EVERYWHERE. I don't know what to do. I've heard if you squish them, they can bite and/or let off this horrible stench. I've never experienced either of these situations, but I've only killed one. There are plenty who have died by other means, though, and I haven't smelled anything. Who knows? Cheryl says these aren't real ladybugs anyway, they're some related type of beetle. Rod thinks they're good luck or something, he got upset when I killed the one the other day. Strange. But anyway my point was that Koko is obsessed with them. She'll sit in the living room and just STARE, unmoving for long periods of time just watching them in the corners of the ceiling.

They're silly. Bear tries to follow along and copy what she does, but he has no clue what's going on.

I'm thinking about ordering one of those test kits that you can send in to a lab and they can tell you what exact breed(s) your dog is. I know they are both mixed with black lab (because it's obvious, but you never know), but there's a great chance Bear is mixed with something because he's smaller than normal labs, and a definite possibility Koko's mixed with something else because she's only 30 lbs. and has been since we got her in 2006, and she's got big, beagle-like ears. :) It'd be interesting to confirm this theory!! Maybe for Roddy's birthday.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Love

From: Roddy
just saying hi. I love you.
Mar 17, 12:35 pm

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Journaling

Ironically, I was just looking for a blank notebook in our bookshelves to use to keep track of my Isagenix program and weight loss, and I found a journal from when I was twelve years old! I tended to start a lot of them, write one - MAYBE two - entries, and then that was it.

This journal I found is small and bright pink (I mean bright). The front has "journal" printed on it inside a little cartoon chat bubble. The first page looks similar to the following, with 'My Journal' in bubble letters:

my
JOURNAL

Annie P******
began on: December 13, 1998
ended on:


The next page says:

Introduction
This page is just to tell about myself. My full name is Anne Constance P******. Don't worry - everyone calls me plain Annie. I am about 5 feet 4 or 5 inches tall. I think I weight something around 115 pounds. I have thick blonde hair to my shoulders and dark blue eyes. I have glasses and braces, but that will change soon. I'm getting my braces off and I'm getting contacts next year. I'm also getting my ears pierced soon hopefully. I'm also growing out my bangs. I am really healthy. I barely ever get sick.

That's all. The next page is the beginning of a pretty pathetic note to my then-boyfriend Jeff that I will spare you the details of.

Isn't that really bizarre? At a time when I'm feeling extremely overweight and unhealthy, I stumble upon that journal entry while looking for something to record my current goals and achievements in! How crazy?

Oh, and on the following page (which happens to be the last page I wrote on) it has a checklist with the following:

- John Winthrop break up end 8
- Williams
- Go to college
- Become author and actress
- Meet Jeff again end of college 21
- Fall in love again
- Move to Essex CT by the river
- Propose on 2/14/ and gets married

Interesting! Worked out much better than that. As it turns out, Jeff and I were NOT compatible. We did break up after 9 months (a long time for a 7th grader) and he was in love with me until the end of 8th grade at least. We stayed friends, and when I was at Eckerd College in FL for a semester, he came to visit me and it turns out we cannot get along, at all. We are totally different people. Needless to say, I am glad my plan didn't work out.

Here's what the updated and completed checklist would look like:

- John Winthrop break up end 7
- Williams
- Meet Josh, date for 2 1/2 years
- Break up end 12 beginning of college
- Semester of college
- Become nanny and secretary
- Meet Roddy again end of semester at college
- Move to Virginia Beach
- Get engaged
- Get married 8/2/08
- Move back to CT (kind of by the river, but not in Essex)
- Start going to school online for Psychology
- Work for psychiatric APRN

...and the rest we'll just have to see! :) I would still like to become an author, no matter what. Right now I have a couple of ideas and many more stories started and never finished...

I have a long weekend right now because my boss is spending a night at Mohegan Sun with her mother. Rod and I are going to our aquarium dealer later to try to find a small stand for our quarantine tank. We have two places we really love right now... one is called Noreast Wet Pets in Vernon, and the other is Fin & Feather in Groton. Both have excellent, knowledgeable customer service and great supplies.

Joe is putting the lattice up on our deck this week and then putting stone pavers at the bottom of the steps. Our deck is coming along! I can't wait to have patio furniture out there (Rod's birthday's coming up...we're all going to pitch in for an outdoor furniture collection, I think)!

Today is a Cleanse Day for me with the Isagenix. I might just use this blog as a journal. I've been back on track with the program for about a week now, and I decided I'd make Tuesdays my Cleanse Day this time. Last time, before our two trips, I was doing really well with the program and had lost about 10 lbs., but then plateaued because of our vacations where I didn't bring the products with me and just ate whatever was available or served to me. At least I didn't gain any weight (I don't think), but I certainly didn't lose any.

Wish me luck!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The lovies

I just had to share these...

Friday, March 12, 2010

Destination: Peru

My parents are going to Peru in a couple of months! They've known for a while, but recently my dad officially decided to learn the Spanish language. He's always tried to speak a little of it here and there... in very slow, broken sentences. When I was in high school, he would try to say "hello" and "goodbye" and "how are you?" and "my name is..." but it was comical to listen to.

He tried the Rosetta Stone software by testing out the free demo they have on their website, and he can tell a funny story about trying to speak the Spanish words and having Rosetta Stone beep loudly to tell him he pronounced the word or phrase wrong, and then a few seconds later, the refrigerator would make a noise, and Rosetta Stone would take that as the right answer. Needless to say, my dad gave up on that avenue and decided to go with a face-to-face Spanish class on a weekly basis.

So, yesterday, I went over to my parents' house to have lunch with my him, and even though it's only been a few weeks, he's already writing ESSAYS in Spanish. This week he had to write one about his family, and I could comprehend almost all of it except one line about hoping to learn a lot in Peru when they go.

I know I said I was going to keep my blog updated on current events, and I haven't been doing a very good job. Recently, there was a horrible mudslide in Peru.

A mudslide on the famed Inca trail to Machu Picchu in Peru killed an Argentine tourist and a Peruvian guide Tuesday, as authorities evacuated dozens of tourists by helicopter from a flood zone where nearly 2,000 more were still stranded. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/26/peru-mudslide026.html#ixzz0hzdoI3Ye

There have also been terrible earthquakes around the globe in the recent months, starting with a 7.0 in Haiti on January 12th. According to CNN, it went on for 35 seconds1.

As of 12 February 2010, an estimated three million people were affected by the quake;[7] the Haitian Government reports that between 217,000 and 230,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to rise.[8][9] They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake

Since then, there have been 6.0+ earthquakes in Chile and Turkey, all within the last couple of weeks2.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Spring is Here! (Maybe)

It was snowing only a week ago...and then yesterday I was outside with shorts on! You never know what tomorrow will be like. But, I'm not complaining! I love all kinds of weather. So, I guess it's good that I live in New England, huh?

The babies are loving this weather! We went on a small hike at a nearby state park yesterday with my mom, and today they were outside for the majority of the day. I think they may have discovered we have a bird feeder now and the following pictures seem to indicate that they were nuzzling around the ground underneath it trying to find some fallen sunflower seeds...



So, yes...I'm 24 now. Only 1 year until I'm eligible to adopt from Ethiopia! :) I only wish...

Today is Heidi's birthday, by the way. Happy Birthday, Heidi!!! Wait, it is after midnight, so I guess I have to say yesterday was Heidi's birthday.

After my last post, we've returned our aquarium twice. I woke up one day to Rod suggesting we get a different shape tank because the original one was too tall and narrow, whereas for saltwater aquariums you really need longer so that there is more surface area for oxygen and gas exchange. So we got a 55 gallon, 48" long tank. Then, this morning I woke up and Roddy said, "I think we should get a bigger tank." Apparently, 40 is really the smallest the books tell us anyone should do with saltwater, and 55 isn't that much bigger. With a 55, people recommend you don't have that many fish (really 1 inch of fish per 4 gallons). So, we went back again today and got a 75 gallon tank.

I think we're satisfied. We'll see. I hope, because we're filling it up with water as we speak.



It's super late (or early) right now and we both have to go to work in the morning (Rod's taking an extra job tomorrow, probably to help pay for all this money we've just spent!) and we just finished doing some homework but are too excited and eager to continue working on the tank.

We decided to put it in the north-facing corner of our bedroom to keep it far away from any direct sunlight, and so that it's not in a high-traffic area of the house where fish can get spooked. I'm going to try to keep a log/journal of the tank set up and stocking and maintenance, etc. so that I can go back and look at. We're expecting a lot of hard work and trial and error, but we're reading SO much and really into this, so we have high hopes.

I'm rambling because I'm tired, so I think I will try to get some sleep. Goodnight!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Virgin Islands

Last week, we got back from the Virgin Islands! We were gone from Valentine's Day until Feb. 22nd with Rod's grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin, Dan and DJ. It was an amazing trip...beautiful weather, fun times, great people. We flew into St. Thomas and then chartered a 43' catamaran sailboat around the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

On the way there, one of our planes was overbooked, so we got put in first class!


Before we left, Rod's Uncle Bruce cleverly designed some cute diagrams of all of us who went, our awesome accommodations and our planned route, which was somewhat altered along the way (click to view larger):



We had a BLAST!!! We went snorkeling a lot and saw some beautiful marine life. The water was gorgeous, the boat we stayed on was just really neat, and Big Dan made some very, very yummy food.

Here are a few more pictures to give you an idea:



At one restaurant we went to at the Bitter End on Virgin Gorda, there were these performers who DANCED on STILTS for a good hour or so. It was incredible. They did all sorts of crazy things and the ground was uneven and I was almost positive they were all going to fall down. It was a lot of fun that night.



In other news... Yesterday I had my 24th birthday! It was arguably one of the best birthdays I have ever had. I received some very, very special gifts from some very, very special people... too special even to mention to be honest, mostly because I'm afraid people will read this and want to break into our house to steal one of them. Seriously. But if you're considering it, don't. Not only do we have a central alarm system and two dogs, but this gift won't be kept at our house, it will be kept in a safe deposit box at our bank.

Anyway, one of the other extremely special gifts I received was an aquarium! It's 56 gallons and Rod got most of the stuff needed to set it up as a marine (salt water) system. Dan gave me two books on starting/keeping fish tanks ("...for Dummies") hehe. Rod - even though he was the one who got me the gift because he's extremely sweet and loving and knew how badly I wanted one - was very worried I wouldn't be able to keep it alive, but now he's just as excited as I am. He actually took one of my books to work with him today so he could start learning. I can't wait! It'll take some time, though, to get everything going so that we do it the right way.

Tomorrow I'm going to NYC with my parents. We're going to a couple of art museums and then hopefully visiting the 9/11 memorial, since I haven't been to the city since 2001 - can you believe it? It's supposed to be somewhat rotten weather, but I plan to wear my Uggs and a crummy weather jacket, so it'll all be good.

I'm excited!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Bday to Me!

From: Warren S
Happy Birthday!
Mar 3, 1:16 am

From: Sarah B
happy birthday!!!!!!
Mar 3, 1:26 am

From: Andy S
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Mar 3, 4:28 am

From: Heidi W
Happybday biatch!!!! Yes im up damn kid kickinshit outa me lol.
Mar 3, 5:16am

From: Jamie P
Happy Birthday
Mar 3, 6:24 am

From: Kara S M
Happy Birthday!!!!
Mar 3, 6:39 am

From: Ginny G
happy birthday!!
Mar 3, 7:27 am

From: Ashley M
Happy Birthday!!!
Mar 3, 7:34 am

From: Aunt Con
HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY ANNIE
much love to you, aunt con
Mar 3, 8:02 am

From: Rachel V
Happy birthday Annie!! Adam and I send our love and best wishes :)
Mar 3, 8:26 am

From: Elizabeth H V
Happy Birthday!!! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Mar 3, 8:33 am

From: Lauren B
Happy birthday miss annie!! Hope all is going great! ( : Enjoy your special day!
Mar 3, 8:45 am

From: Kristen H
Happy Birthday Annie! Hope you have a great day! :-)
Mar 3, 9:00 am

From: Melanie L S
Hapy Birthday Annie! hope you have an amazing day ♥
Mar 3, 9:01 am

From: Frank R
Happy Birthday! Have a great day!!
Mar 3, 9:02 am

From: Brian D
Happy Birthday Annie!!! Hope your day is full of joy!
Mar 3, 9:14 am

From: Sarah R M
Happy Birthday to you!!! I hope your day is great! :)
Mar 3, 10:03 am

From: Sarah C
Happy Birthday Annie!!
Mar 3, 10:04 am

From: Kate R
Happy Birthday!!!
Mar 3, 10:31 am

From: Lucy D
Happy birthday!! Next time I'm in CT we'll have to meet up for a belated celebration!
Mar 3, 10:44 am

From: Jason K
happy birthday anne!
Mar 3, 12:23 pm

From: Kate T
Happy birthday, Annie! I hope you have a fantastic day :) Enjoy it!!
Mar 3, 12:55 pm

From: Kyle N
haven't talked to you in forever! hope you're doing well! happy birthday!
Mar 3, 12:55 pm

From: Taryn M
happy birthday!!!
Mar 3, 1:00 pm

From: Tiffany T
Happy birthday!!!!!!
Mar 3, 1:24 pm

From: Devon C
Happpyyy Birthdayyyy :) Hope all is well with you and Rod!! Have an amazinggg dayy ;)
Mar 3, 2:14 pm

From: Mark F
Annie, We hope you have a wonderfully happy birthday! -With Love ♥ Uncle Mark adn Auntie Nancy
Mar 3, 2:39 pm

From: Ashley M S
Happy birthday I hope you have an amazing day! I miss you and we must catch up sometime its been WAAAYYY to long :)
Mar 3, 3:46 pm

From: Nicole H
Happy Birthday Annie!
Mar 3, 4:34 pm

From: Wendy W
Happy Birthday Annie. I remember designing your birth announcement!
Mar 3, 10:07 pm

From: Isabella D
Happy Birthday!!! Hope, you are having a great day!!!
Mar 4, 2:10 am