Leap Day

Today while walking my dogs in one of the many local parks (I chose my favorite, because it is quiet and I always see cool things) we were enjoying the solitude.  One worker was mowing on the far side but that was the only other person in the park.  We greeted the park Donkey and then headed out.  Now during the last few weeks I have seen one particular turtle (at least I think it is the same turtle).  He is a good size turtle, probably about a foot long and he is usually close to the trail so the dogs have met him as well.

Here is some pictures of him.

Here he is hanging out on the side of the pond.

Here he is hanging out in the middle of the trail.

And then today I saw him out in the middle of the pond, so I thought "Guess we wont be seeing anymore turtles today."  I started crossing the long park bridge and Memphis was so excited to go watch the water flow over the rocks, so we ran to his favortie spot and this HUGE turtle was sitting in among the rocks.  He was probably at least 2 feet long and a foot wide.  Easily as big as my Westie, Vegas.  In the second picture if you look closely you can even see his VERY long tail.  I wish I has my better camera, because he was not even trying to hide, he was almost posing.  

By the way that dogs did not even notice he was there.  Silly Pups!!

The end of this chapter in life

Things have been going really well the last couple days and I have been in a great mood.  I had this feeling that things would be changing soon and while nothing has been huge, it is the little things that count.

1.  Last night the little girl I have been babysitting for the last 2 years said my name for the first time (she is 2yrs old).  Both her parents had been working with her on my name and I got to hear it often last night.  It was so adorable, that I am going to have to catch her saying it on film.  I want to remember that forever.  Even her mom said that she said my name cuter than she said anyone else's name.  When I started babysitting her and her older sister, she was 2 months old and her sister was 2 years old.  I feel blessed that I have gotten to see so many of their milestones over the last 2 years.  I can remember the first time her sister said my name as well.

2.  My cat begged for some of my dinner tonight.  It was fried chicken and now she is running around like she is high on catnip.  Her eyes are dilated and she is chasing invisible things.  I guess I can add fried chicken to her list of foods she LOVES.  Arby's roast beef, Starbucks whipped cream, Cooper's barbeque, and French fries are already on the list.   Now this may not see like a huge deal but it really was, Lacy (my cat) has not felt comfortable enough being near the dogs for the last (nearly) 5 years.  She sat on one side and my 2 dogs sat on the other.  She bit my finger she was so excited for a treat. 

3.  Today I woke up REALLY late (the sun never came out, so I kept sleeping) so I had a late start today and I thought my day may not go well because of that.  I had to visit the library to return some DVDs and pick up some I reserved so I decided to bring my journal to write as well.  ~~I figured since I would have to get dressed and put of make-up I might as well stay out awhile. ~~  I only had a couple pages until I reached the end of this journal and I was really excited, because I considered the end of the journal the close on this chapter of my life.  I started the journal in March of 2008.  Since then I have (in no particular order):

n      Moved 3 times

n      Taught in 3 districts

n      Learned to trust my instincts about relationships

n      Adopted a second dog

n      Got a fish, Vino (beta)

n      Been placed in a Substitute Pool

n      Been in a Reduction in Force

n      Bought a house

n      Discovered a love of the BBC

n      Watched my sister graduate from college

n      Started babysitting again

n      Taught over 700 students

n      Taught 36 different classes

n      Read hundreds of books

n      Bought two different ebook readers

n      Went off my parents’ cell phone plan

n      Lost a uncle

n      Gained 4 more little cousins

n      Lost our big dog Milo

n      Lost my baby brother (our 17 year old poodle), Dusty

n      Lost our two outside cats

n      Gained and Lost weight

n      Gotten four more certifications

n      Read the Harry Potter Series and Twilight Series

n      Participated in Potter-A-Thon at the Alamo Draft House

n      Helped host a family reunion

n      Learned to take care of my own yard

n      Watched the milestones of several kids I babysit

n      Finally saw A Tuna Christmas

n      Finally visited The American Girl Store  (AMAZING)

n      Saw Harry Potter 7 Part II nine times in the theater

n      Gone through a phase of burning everything I cooked

n      Become a Wiccan for the second time in my life and then changing my mind again

n      Begin practicing divination, just for fun

n      Danced my butt off to Just Dance 1/2/3 with my sister

n      Started to write my first book

n      Learned to change the oil on my car

n      Learn to install light fixtures

n      Learned to replace electrical sockets

n      Learned to replace the faucet

n      Seen a (evil) snake eat a dove in my front yard (that one still freaks me out)

n      Had my house broken into (that one changes you, those ADT commercials don’t lie)

n      Helped Vegas go from being terrified to go on a walk to taking daily walks in the park

n      Gone from Loving the city to wanting nothing more than to live in the country

n      And probably lots more but I am drawing a blank at this moment.

I have kept a journal since I was in elementary school and I still have all of them.  It helps me look back and remember the good times and the bad.  I may not write in it every day and sometimes I have not written a months but it is still important to me.  I am ready to start my new journal tomorrow (a nice leather bound one I came across a couple of weeks ago) and I hope to fill it with tons of wonderful experiences to go with this next chapter in my life.

Princess Lacy

I have had my cat, Lacy since I was 19 (I'm 27 now) and while I was in college she was very affectionate.  She slept beside me every night or sat beside me on the couch.  She also had a habit of stealing food from my plate (she would place her paw on the plate and slide food to the edge).  Nearly 5 years ago I adopted my first dog and the 1.5 years later I adopted the second dog.  Lacy hates the dogs.  My male dog, Memphis, has the habit of chasing her off if she comes near me and the female dog, Vegas, use to attack her when I would pick her up.  This has resulted in her staying in bed most the day, and only moving for food.

Since moving to my current house a couple years ago, Lacy has lost weight and has started to feel confident enough to move around my home, but she still hardly ever gets on my bed and or the couch. 

Last night she had her chance, the pups were sleeping in the guest room and my bedroom, so she could actually sit beside me.  It was like I was 19 again, in my tiny studio apartment, while Lacy curled up beside me.  Suddenly she talked one too many times and Memphis ran into the living room and used his body to make her so uncomfortable (something he does with most animals when he wants them to move) she crossed the end table to get back to her bed.

It was nice while it lasted.  It was nice remembering the simple times when it was just Lacy and I in my little apartment, with only making it to class to worry about.

Lazy Lazy Saturday

I had so much I wanted to get done today, since I am babysitting tomorrow. 

I had plans.

I was going to clean the office, finally wash the sheets on the guest bed, clean the kitchen, wash the rugs, clean off the dining room table, and of course make it through the (way too many) movies from the library. 

What I didn't anticipate was that my bad cold would make a return and after taking cold medicine at one in the morning, I would also be sleeping in this morning.  I set three alarms and I can only sort of remember the 3rd alarm.  My pups did not even attempt to wake me up. 

So after getting a late start to begin with, I also broke my routine and did none of my morning tasks.  The main reason I never got around to my morning tasks was that my tub faucet was leaking and I was searching the web to see if there was a quick and easy way to fix it.  Turns out there is not one, but there was a way to quiet the sound.

By the time I had that taken care of, I decided to just start work on the pile of movies I checked out from the library.  Two of which were due soon. 

First up was Red Riding Hood.  I saw this movie at the theater with my sister and never could decide how much I liked it.  The whole movie you are making guesses at who is the wolf and that makes it a little difficult to focus on the rest of the story.  I thought the second time would be better, but I forgot who the wolf was and ended up spending most the movie trying to figure it out again.

The second movie was the British film, Hot Fuzz.  All I can say about this movie is, "WOW!"  It is a interesting movie, full of scenes that make you say, "Did that just happen?"  I have no idea whether or not I liked it because it was so strange and it is nothing about it being British humor.  I love British shows and movies.  I went through a phase a couple months ago where I watched every single episode of Are You Being Served?   It was just this movie that was strange.  I did love seeing all the Harry Potter people in it though.

The third movie was a movie I had from netflix,  Crazy, Stupid, Love.  I saw this movie before with my mom but since we came in as it was starting, I always felt like I never got the chance to relax and enjoy it.  It is a really cute movie and I love how it is filled with surprises.

So the day was a really lazy day, until 7:00PM when I suddenly decided to go through the stack of papers on my dining table and file them.  Then that prompted me to clean my office. 

So at the end of the day, I did very little from my list, but I am still proud because the stack of papers is filed and my desk is clean.

The Park

I spend my time in the evenings and mornings walking in my local park, with my two dogs. The park I adore has a historical background and it usually very quiet. The dogs love it, because they get to check out other wild and domestic animals. Some walks they get to see the park armadillo, tons of birds, deer, squirrels, ducks, and opossums. My little monkey (a small black male dog), loves to watch the water flow over rocks, but my baby girl (a westie) just enjoys the walk. You will hear a lot about them, because I am a proud pet mom. I also have a cat and a Betta.

This is a video I took yesterday, of Monkey's reaction to water. 

Here is a couple of pictures I took at the park yesterday:

 This pup, is my little boy, I call Monkey.  The walks started for his benefit, because he has tons of energy and loves to see new things.

 This is Monkey seeing the camera and preparing to hide.  He is VERY camera shy.

 This is the park donkey.  He is adorable and very friendly.

Meet my baby girl, she is very timid and shy most of the time.  Unless she has not slept much that day, then she becomes a bit violent. 

One way I have been keeping busy...

My sister is always asking me what I do with my time.  Well I can tell you one part and that is dealing with a internet device that likes to shut itself off and on.  It makes doing even simple tasks online, take twice as long.  Today I have finally made some progress in getting this device to work.  After a attempt for it to be fixed over the phone and once more in the store, I took it back in today and someone finally listened to what I was saying. 

It is so nice to be heard.

 Right now I am having to use my old device, which was also not working until I finally just talked to someone on the phone and they had the problem fixed in 2 minutes.  I feel like I can finally take care of tasks I have been putting off because I never knew if my internet would keep the connection through the task.  The freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One A Side Note~~~~The weirdest thing happened after I left the mobile phone store though.  There I was surrounded my tons of my favorite stores.  I have always loved shopping, but have cut back since the RIF.  I left the store and got in my car and thought about heading to some of my old favorites and it hit me.  I did not want to go shopping, I wanted to head to the library and work on my book that I am writing.  It was so weird, but it felt fantastic.  I think I am finally breaking that bad shopping habit.~~

The days are getting brighter

After I found out I was in a Reduction in Force or RIF (my second in 3 years) I was heartbroken and horribly depressed.  I let fear rule my life over the next several months.  I was living with the fear of what happens if I don't have a job when school starts...by Thanksgiving....by the end of the semester...by the start of the next semester.  However in January it hit me, that I was still surviving, so why was I so worried.  It is amazing the weight that is lifted off your shoulders when you finally learn to just let go.  Now I won't lie to you, when bill paying time comes around, I still stress about money but I am no longer afraid of what is to come or that things may not work out like I expected them too.

I have always been a eternal optimist and I know that a better future is just around the corner.  I also realized this past fall that I needed to stop putting things off.  I was often saying "When I have a job, I will (fill in the blank)" but by September I wondered what was keeping me from getting things done.  I started filling my days with projects.  I started to utilize my local library and began to read books I never thought to read.  I also started to watch British television (luckily someone at the local library is also a fan, so I had lots of choices).  I even went out and got a couple more certifications, bringing the number to five. 

I believe fate leads us to the places we need to be and to the things we need to be doing.  I had forgotten about this blog after the RIF and was not sure I even wanted to look at it again.  But thanks to my sudden interest in the Pioneer Woman blog, I started to think about this blog.  I started it just over a year ago, and I feel ready to actually make something of it.  The days really are getting brighter and my spirit is lighter.  I look forward to the future whatever that may be, because I know that no matter what it is going to be great.