Fun with pets

I've been doing the yoga for about a month now. I can't say enough about how much I love doing this yoga. It's always challenging, but there is always something that happens - I can get into a pose a little further, I can hold one a little longer, one that killed me yesterday is easier today - that makes the class amazing, and I always feel like I'm high when I leave there.

One thing I am hating/loving about yoga - I have not lost any weight. Well, maybe like five pounds or something, but nothing major considering four or five weeks of work. However, I'm pretty sure I've put on some muscle, and I'm also pretty sure I have lost some inches on my thighs. Now I am kicking myself that I didn't take all my measurements from the beginning, because to me results, of any kind, are very motivating.

In other news, I picked up some cheapo kids Halloween costumes at the grocery store today. I plan on dressing up some work doggies and putting their photos on the website, but of course we needed to do a test run, which involved putting my animals in said costumes and laughing my ass off. I will post photos when I have uploaded them so that you may also laugh your ass off.

Revenge of the gut

Why is it so hard to find a nice, simple, boob-friendly dress? I spent the whole weekend hunting in two different malls and one outlet village for a dress. Nothing fancy. Preferably jersey knit because I am a chubby little one, bordering on plus-sized, and, generally, structured dresses or shirts or anything don't fit right in at least one area or another.

I need the dress for a wedding. I have only been to one wedding since I was twelve, and it was outdoors and not so formal. This wedding I'm going to is not formal, but not outside either, so no gown, but I would rather wear a cute dress than a skirt/top thing. Plus, I don't own any dresses, so it's a good opportunity to branch out a bit.

I tried on sheath dresses. I tried on sleeveless. I tried on halter. I tried on long sleeves, three quarter, and short. I tried on flutter sleeves. I tried on v-neck. I tried backless. I tried on wrap. I tried on prints, solids, stripes, polka-dots. I must have tried at least 75 dresses, and of those that I could actually fit in to, only three were "maybes". I just want a dress I can love. And that loves me. And my chub.

Ha Ha Ha - the joke's on them!

I got the best news in the mail today!!! Are you ready for this?

There is FINALLY a Domino's pizza in my neighborhood!!!

Okay, so maybe it's not so exciting to some people, but we have been living here for four years, and whenever I feel like Domino's we have to drive 20 minutes, because we don't live in Dominoville and they don't deliver here. And there is something about domino's that makes me crave it - and it's naughty cheesy bread. I will be ordering a medium vegetarian tonight. And some naughty cheesy bread.

In other news, I may have a fun surprise for my fellow yoga enthusiasts this afternoon. I must admit, I only thought of it after ingesting my entire lunch, but it's probably not such a good idea to eat a bean and cheese burrito three hours before class. Ya, sorry about that Maria.

Singing the praises of the Mr. of Clean

My dog Gabby had some minor surgery today. She has had what we call, so fondly, The Eye Wart, for like six years. It's a cyst-type thing on her eyelid (like where your eyelashes are). We had it removed four years ago because it was ugly, and I thought it might scratch her cornea. It was great for about a year or two, then it grew back, meaner and uglier than ever. Actually, it wasn't as bad as it had been until about six months ago when it started to grow, then EXPLODE, then recede, then grow, then EXPLODE, etc. And when I say explode, I mean giant glops of grossness everywhere.

So, in she went for the *final* removal (since she's 12, I doubt she'll live through another four years of the grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, EXPLODE cycle). We joked with the technicians that she was going in for some minor cosmetic surgery, and that if they could do a bit of lipo while they had her under, that would be great. I'm glad that she didn't have to stay overnight, and she made it through fine, but now she has two stiches in her eyelid, and has to wear one of those lampshade things until they come out.

In other news, I bought one of those Mr. Clean bathroom cleaners today - it's like a Swiffer, but has a spongy pad on the end and you use it to clean the tub and shower. It's fucking awesome. It's going to change my life, I know it. I hate cleaning the shower, but love having a clean shower. I hate how you always get cleaner or water all over you, so I usually clean the shower naked or barely clothed and shower directly after. I also hate the reaching and stretching and impossible angles associated with a really great tub clean. Well, these are problems no more my friends. Mr. Clean is my new man. I cleaned the whole shower/tub in like five minutes, and it was not clean. not clean at all. Definitely the best product I've found in quite some time.

Hallelujah

I have some fantastic news everyone!!! My iBook is now officially wireless! We've been putting off buying a wireless card since buying the business, and then I finally got one last week but experienced a few *complications* during set-up, but I'm finally up and running! I'm so happy, cause this means that all my hours of TV watching can now be multi-tasking time again instead of just vegging. It also means that I can write my blog entries where I feel most comfortable, on my sofa, instead of in the stupid office. Yay!

So, last week was pretty uneventful, except for one day in which some HORRIBLE things happened to me.

First of all, I went to my yoga class, and it was the last day of my period and I felt terrible. I could barely do any of the standing postures, which happened when I first started classes, so I thought maybe I had just skipped too many days. But then, I could barely do any of the floor postures because I felt like puking, which has NEVER happened before. I was very discouraged, and sad, but the good news is I went back two days later and was able to do every posture, which I've only done three times.

Also, one of my favorite doggies got a little crazy at the dog park, and ran smack into my shin with his skull. I have a giant bruise and for three days felt like I had shin splints or a hairline fracture. Fine now, although it's pretty ugly to look at.

And last but not least, I got a bug stuck in my ear. Ew. A tiny black fly, and I heard it buzz in there and tried to pop it out, but think I just smooshed it. When I finally got home at 3 I used a Qtip to extract the body, and lots of bloodiness (I'm assuming from the body, because I didn't have any scabbing or anything). I felt like my ear was still feeling weird, so around bedtime I Qtipped again and found MORE of the body. AAAAACCCCCHHHHHHH. But then it was all gone. I think I'll start walking with ear muffs.

A little homework for you

Five years ago today, I woke up, stumbled out of bed, poured a bowl of cereal and sat down to watch some TV before driving into the city to finalize my travel plans. It was two days before I was due to leave on a month-long jaunt to Europe, my consolation prize for not getting in to the law school I wanted. (Turned out to be a fantastic turn of events, cause I did my creative writing degree instead, and am 99.9% sure if I had gone to law school I would have murdered myself or someone I loved due to sleep deprivation and general anxiety issues).

Anyway, so I was munching on my breakfast, SB was almost out the door to class, and I'm watching the Today show and they cut to footage of a plane running into the World Trade Center.

Things changed for everyone that day. And even though I don't like to look at things like that with a "woe is us" attitude, I didn't, and still don't, consider it melodramatic to share in the sorrow of that day. Everyone, everywhere (I did end up taking my trip, and met lots of people all across Europe, and had lots of conversations about the attack) lost a confidence that had once been inherent, not an innocence, but a sureness of what the dangers in our lives are, and what we are safe from. That things like that just don't happen. Then suddenly they did happen. And suddenly there was this global awareness that anything, literally any thing, could happen at any moment and change everything.

I don't generally draw a whole lot of inspiration from things I see in the media (maybe because I mostly watch Law & Order and CSI and if they inspired me to do something, I would be in jail or the looney bin by now) But today, among all the 9/11 stuff on Ellen there was a segment, about a woman named Ann Nelson who had saved a copy of her "100 things to do before I die" list, and then she died in the World Trade Center, and her mom found the list on her laptop like three years later, and now it's been published in all kinds of newspapers, magazines, and on TV.

I think it's the most important list to have. I think in writing it, you outline what is most important to you and by re-visiting it you can see your own growth, and remind yourself of your identity. I also think it is something that needs to be shared - and not necessarily while you're around. It's like an emotional will, and by leaving it behind, it can remind people of the fabric you were made up of. Especially if you keep track of what you've actually done and what you haven't.

So, everyone, write your lists. And share them, or don't. But have them, and use them. Make them bold. Make them full of big things. I'm going to write mine. But I haven't decided if I'll share it or not.