A Late Night in Austin

OK, so I got back to the hotel around 4 am. Hey, what's wrong with having fun at 39? Here are some pics of the airplane, the Phoenix airport, Mario, Stacy, and Carlo. I just woke up and will probably go down to the pool and wait for my friends to wake up out of their comas. It was kind of a wild night.

What happens in Austin, stays in Austin.

Hello, Austin!

CrazyDogMama has arrived in Austin, Texas!  Yeehaw! I will have more pics soon hopefully. Well, I have to go, they are picking me up and we are going out. Let the fun begin!

Off to Texas on Thursday!

So I'm getting ready for my trip. Here are some of the places I'm going (or so I've been told I'm going):

The Oasis in Austin

The Hula Hut

The River Walk

University of Texas

Grins Restaurant

Lake Travis.

Anyone have any additional suggestions? I'm open! This will be my first visit to Texas, and I will be staying in downtown Austin. We will be traveling to San Antonio one day as far as I know. It feels great to have something to look forward to! I will be gone 8 days. Woohoo!

Happy Easter

It was a quiet Easter; a simple ham (the awesome one in the red foil from Costco), scalloped potatoes, asparagus and a glass of chardonnay. My mom and I played cards and listened to music. We talked about everything. I texted friends and family to tell them I love them.

About an hour after my last entry, the vet called and said they had Louie's remains. I went to pick them up, and it was a bittersweet surprise. The box is just lovely, and there was a surprise in the package, an imprint of Lou's paw. When I saw that I broke down and cried and cried and cried. I was so impressed with the presentation, and again I had the people at the vet tearing up. I can't help it, I'm very emotional when it comes to the ones I love. I don't think I will ever be over it. Also in the package was a beautiful memoir called "The Rainbow Bridge". I will post it later. I'm going to frame it along with a picture of Boo-bear for my shrine to him.

A day to myself.

My mom is out today and I elected to stay home and spend time with myself. I enjoy my alone time. I am missing Louie today. I should be receiving his ashes any day now, and I know it will be a hard day when I do. I am making a necklace with part of it so I can carry him with me always. That may seem weird, but there is a place that can turn ashes into a gem, and that is what I am doing, because he was a gem.

I still talk to Joe every day, and he is a great guy, but I cannot wait any longer as I want to spend time with the one I care about. There is another nice gentleman who has been expressing interest in me, so I may explore that. It is difficult to find decent men my age who have values, and with whom I share mutual attraction with, so I don't want to miss out on a possible good opportunity. In other words, I am really picky. :-)

Lips, Lounging and Lack

Lounging. This would be the view from my floating chaise lounge. I baked in the 90-degree weather on Saturday floating around in the pool. It was rough. Well, actually, me trying to get ON the damn thing without flipping it was the difficult part. There may have been laughter about that.

Lips. This would be my lips after using my new lip plumper. Fabulous!

Lack. Don't know about Joe and I, he is sweet and funny, but not there very often. I swear to God I am the unluckiest person in the WORLD when it comes to dating. He hasn't done anything "wrong", but I hardly ever see him. He emails me quite a bit, but I don't want an email relationship. I guess I will just see where it goes and keep my options open. Frustrating!

Hooters, Thank You's, Demolition, and Life without Lou.

I needed a few days to collect myself, not that I'm collected now, but at least I can see out of my eyeballs again. I want to do a BIG thank you to all the people that cried with me, were concerned about me and were there for me when I needed them most: My two moms, Bill, Jenny, Joe, Mario, Brandi and my blog buddies. My moms were there to (literally) pick me up off the floor, Bill (my stepson) called and texted me from school very concerned about me and sad himself, Jenny (my BFF) who talked hours on end with me, Joe (the guy I'm dating) who was incredibly sweet and didn't think I was crazy for loving a dog so much, Mario (best California friend and coworker) who kept trying to make me laugh and calling me to make sure I was still going to Texas with him, Brandi (friend and coworker) who texted me in the middle of the night so I wouldn't be alone and all my beloved blog readers who sent me sweet comments and heartfelt emails. It means A LOT to me that you all care so much. I have had everyone in tears lately, the people at the vet, my mom, my coworkers and even Joe. I think you all are so used to me being the comic relief, that you don't know what to do with snot bubble face.

Okay, moving on. The downstairs is in chaos. The kitchen and family room are torn apart for remodel right now, so all routine is gone for the moment. No DVR or HD, no cooking and no couch or recliner to sit in. AAHH! My mom and I have been curling up and watching TV in the master bedroom together, kind of a pajama party. And get this, we have to go out for dinner every night right now and when I came home from work yesterday and asked my mom where she wanted to go, she said "Hooters". I said "Hooters? Really?" She said "Yup. Got a coupon!" LOL! So yes, we went to Hooters for dinner. When we got there, she exclaimed "Well good God, I've got bigger hooters than her!" OMG! It's going to be gorgeous and in the 80's this weekend so I'm going to catch up on my poolside lounging, I wanna be tan for Texas.

Shattered Heart

My boo-bear is gone. So is my soul. This is the single worst day of my entire life. That dog meant more to me than most people. I will never be the same. No dog will ever be Louie. I took off work to spend the last few days with him so I could hug him and kiss him and tell him how much better he made my life. I would not have made it through the last few years without him by my side. I don't know if I can be CrazyDogMama anymore.

I love you my sweet, sweet bear, and you will be missed forever.

The New Car I'm Getting

Now that I'm in California and don't need an SUV anymore, it is time to get THIS. A 2011 Dodge Challenger. I need to think about this, because if I think too much about Louie, I'm going to start bawling my eyes out again. I have to put him down and it will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. Lou is the reason I became "CrazyDogMama". Okay that's enough, can't talk about that anymore.

 

Officially Texas-bound!

Got my plane ticket today and booked a hotel. Got awesome deals, only 200 bucks round trip and 60 percent off a luxury hotel in downtown Austin. Yes! I'm going with friends for 8 days at the end of April / first part of May. Should be great fun! Oh how I need a vacation, and it's a wild crowd too, so who knows what I'm in for. LOL. Now I just have to survive between now and then.

All the way from the Netherlands!

Not what you're thinking, a girl gave these to me. Such a sweetheart! I helped a coworker in the middle of the night. She was stressed about getting a project done while she was overseas, and she brought these back for me in thanks. She said she couldn't believe how willing I was to help her when I didn't have to, and that I was so nice about it. This perplexed me. She explained that everyone else was snotty about it and I wasn't. Apparently, she bragged about me to the bigwigs that not only was I accommodating, but that I really knew my shit!  I guess it does pay to be nice!

Wild Elixir

My new scent. :-)

Just Woke Up

UG. Didn't get to bed until around 3 am. (Thanks Joe!) Should go to boxing this morning but I am so exhausted from the week I don't know. The dogs are looking up at me with expressions on their face like, "What are we doing up before noon on a Saturday?" Indeed. Perhaps I should go back to bed. Okay, sound good. Buh-bye.

Randomness

New shoes! Glowing pool! Laguna Beach and my favorite restaurant there! And, those DAMN Angry Birds are at it again!

I spent THREE FREAKING HOURS playing that stupid game on Saturday non-stop. I warned Joe not to download it, we'll see if he listens. He is taking me to see "Red Riding Hood" on Friday, I haven't heard anything about it yet, so SHHH don't tell me!

Food

How I've lost 60+ pounds and am still going!

I do not eat anything I do not like the taste of. Period. There is no way I could eat tofu, rice cakes, diet soda or live on chicken and broccoli. Blech. I don't like Boca Burgers, but I love MorningStar Grillers! I put steak dust and red pepper flakes on them, drop them in the skillet, then eat them on an English muffin with stone ground mustard. (Pictured below with a side of fresh strawberries!) Since I live for Blue Cheese dressing, I had to find one that was lower in fat, carbs and calories. Walden Farms makes a great one! It actually tastes GOOD! I also make Cajun chicken and scampi with zero calorie sauces from Walden Farms. They ROCK. Tonight, however, I am eating ribs and having creme carmel for dessert! :-D

Reduced to Tears

Tonight, I can hardly move. I can't recall ever being in this much pain from a workout. I knew boxing was hard, but it hurts to breathe, literally. I wasn't aware of all the muscles in and around your ribcage. It took me 6 minutes to get downstairs, holding on to the railing for dear life. I must have done 100 squats throughout training having to "crouch" down between punches.

On my first day, I walked in and looked around for where I was supposed to be. I saw a woman helping a man put his hand wraps on, so I figured she was the instructor and waited to have her help me as well since I have no idea what I'm doing. After several minutes of standing there like an idiot, a man came up to me, grabbed my hands and started putting my wraps on. No "hello", no "welcome", no introduction whatsoever. The first thing he said to me was "You smell like a cigarette.". I just kind of blinked. He said, "If you are going to smoke, why are you bothering?" More blinking from me as he yanked my hands around. I managed to say something retarded like "I'm trying really hard to quit." He finished and walked away. No mercy here. Yep, he is the instructor. About 30 minutes into the workout, I am sopping wet, my face is beat red, and I am breathing so loud I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. He is calling out combinations and I am having to quickly figure it out. 1 - 2, 1 - 1 - 2, 1 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. Okay, left jab, right cross. Left jab, left jab, right cross. Left jab, left jab, right cross, left hook, left upper cut. Again, again, AGAIN. I'm focused. I think. AAAH! There he is. Right beside me. Shit! He is standing in front of me with sparring equipment on. This means I am to take my focus off the bag and spar with him. "Come on" he says. I start hitting his gloves with the latest combination called out. "Harder." I really throw myself into this. I wail on his gloves. I'm grunting. OMG I'm grunting. He says "Good, now show me that kind of enthusiasm on the bag, and control your bag, stop letting it swing everywhere." Did I join the Marines, and no one told me? SHEESH. The police academy wasn't even this intense.

I have a really big bruise on my right forearm. Sexy.

Loving the Life I'm Living Now

I spent a buttload of money over the weekend. That's what happens when you have an episode of insomnia and go online shopping. LOL! I bought a bunch of new clothes (the pics above are a sampling of what I got), including some new workout gear (Ottomix), some new makeup "Raw Natural Minerals", and a big jug of caramel latte protein powder. I joined "LA Boxing" which is right down the street from me. I finally did it. Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)  hopefully starting today. I was nervous to tell Joe (Yes, that's his name) about the boxing because he thinks I'm so feminine. Every time he sees me I'm all dressed up and in high heels. ROFLMAO! But, when I told him, he said "Oh, that's hot." He is very secure in his manhood. :-)

While listening to my favorite tunes and drinking a glass of wine, I BBQ'd a pound of marinated Carne Asada last night and grilled with it some jalapeños, green and red peppers and onions. YUM! That gives me lunch for a few days. Then I watched "Zombieland" while waiting for the pool to heat up to a perfect 84 degrees and took a nice long skinny dip. That is my absolute favorite thing to do before bed. I got the pool light fixed, so it is so cool! The pool glows and you can see the steam rising off of it.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Medieval Times!

WOW, an 8.9 in Japan, that's a biggie! Terrible. We have been getting tsunami warnings all morning here in Southern Cali, but nothing to worry about apparently, just no surfing or laying out on the beach. Most of the beaches here are closed right now.

I think I have been out every night this week; hence the reason I have been too tired to blog. Went to Medieval Times in Buena Park last Sunday night with some girly friends and what a trip! Too fun. You eat with your hands! And the alcoholic beverages come in these HUGE-ass goblets. I got the "First Knight" which has malibu rum, Bacardi rum, strawberry daquiri mix, pina colada mix and something else I forget. YUM. The show was very entertaining as well, the horses were gorgeous. None of us had ever been there before.

So, I am dating the sweetest man EVER, who also happens to be hysterically funny. He makes me laugh every day. His recent adventure was with his homemade salsa. His blender exploded while making the first batch, and he is still cleaning habaneros off of his ceiling, parrot and dog. Because I love spicy stuff, he made another batch and brought it to me at work. Isn't that nice? I guess it helps that he works across the street from me at Boeing. ;-)

Ahh, the weekend. It was in the 80's yesterday and is nice again today, so hopefully the weekend will be relaxing by the pool.

Conversations While Driving

So I went to lunch today with coworkers/friends Mario and Paula. I was driving, and on the way back to the office we had a pretty funny conversation. Paula is back on the dating scene after a long while just like me, and Mario is a perma-bachelor who is protective of his friend Cheryl.

Paula: "So when do we get to see a picture of your new man?"
Mario: "Yeah! When?"
Me: "Well I have a couple on my phone, here."
Paula: "Oh, he's hot!"
Mario: "He looks like a serial killer."
Me: "He does NOT look like a serial killer. What is the matter with you?!"
Mario: "He does too look like a serial killer, you are dating a serial killer."
Me: "Get OUT. Get OUT of the car." (Paula is howling in laughter in the back seat.)
Mario: (laughing) "Look at him. Serial killer."
Me: "OUT! Gimme my phone! You're fired!"

Progress

We are working our way downstairs. The upstairs hall, the staircase and living room are all painted, and crown molded now, and the entry hall has a new light. We also had the ceiling wood beams painted white since the walls are now beige. It looks so good! The pics don't do it justice. Furnishing the living room, however, is going to have to wait. We bought a leather couch and some cool wooden boxes to store stuff in, but that's about it. We are not looking forward to having the kitchen and family room done now, which is next, because it will be hard to live during the reconstruction. We are going to have to eat out every night! Funny thing happened. Upon tearing down the wood paneling from the bar (egads!), it uncovered what has to be the most hilarious wallpaper EVER. I remember it from my childhood, but holy GOD, it's awful, isn't it? LOL! I kind of love it at the same time. Brings back good memories.

By the way, you all crack me up. My emails of late are like, "What good thing?", "Is it a man, did you meet someone?", "Did you win the lottery?", "Oh, come on, tell us!"

Yes, I met someone, and yes, I am walking on clouds right now. He blows all the other ones out of the water so far. That's all I'm saying for now.

Yummy Lunch

Rotisserie chicken with avocado, vine tomatoes, Swiss cheese, spinach and aioli sauce on a 9-grain roll, accompanied by a spring mix with sweet vinaigrette. I eat well these days! Gotta love those California avocados! Yes, my lunch is important. Everyone wants to know what I had for lunch, including you. I will never regret posting food pics, and will probably never stop, so get over it.

I have some news, I think, but I'm going to wait a bit to talk about it cuz I don't wanna jinx it.

I Come By It Honestly

My mom and I went to dinner and splurged on steak and lobster. YUM! We both had a glass of wine with dinner. Afterward, I was driving us home and my mother was whining about going to the lamp store, which I did not feel like doing at 9 pm at night. (Also, my rule is no drinking and shopping. LOL!) As I passed the store, she shrieks this, "Right lane, right lane!" I told her we weren't doing that tonight. Then I hear: "Fuck, Shit, Piss!" Now, you may think that is just vulgar, but you have to picture the situation. My 105-pound senior citizen mother sitting in the passenger seat shouting an interesting string of obscenities because I wouldn't take her to the lamp store. Truly, it was FUNNY AS HELL. So, to calm her down, I made Grasshoppers for dessert. :-)

Storm Swimming

So I did something really cool the other night; albeit a little dangerous. We were having a thunder and lightning storm with rain, and I cranked the pool heat up and went swimming. It was probably the best thing I've done in awhile. I fixed the pool light recently, and when I turned it on, the pool glowed and I watched the rain splash and create glittery bubbles. It was so beautiful! I floated on my back and watched the show while the rain fell on my face. I know I'm a little crazy, but sometimes the best things in life require risk.

Stuff & Things

Wow, busy week. Taxes are done, got an offer on the house (way too low, though), and work is nuts. Texas trip got pushed to April due to work stuff, but we have been discussing the details and it sounds fun! We are going to spend time at Lake Travis, lunch at the University where Mario graduated (Texas State) and maybe even a drive down to the Riverwalk in San Antonio. My friends at work are now talking about a day trip to Magic Mt. Holy crap, I can handle Disneyland, but I may be too old for those kinds of G-forces! They will make me go however, so, YIKES.

Not sure what I am doing today, but hooray for the 3-day weekend! It is stormy here right now so outside activities are squelched, but maybe I will catch up on my sleep.

Sad?

I'm a little sad tonight. I'm not even sure exactly why. I don't have anything to be sad about. I have this great job that has really blossomed over the last year, I live in what used to be my vacation home that I love, I have great friends and family around me, and I no longer have the same stresses over money and whatnot. It has also been my own decision not to date; at least for a while. So why I am I sad? Good question.

I often think about things I can't do anything about. I'm not talking about my ex or any old boyfriends, or any bad things that have happened in my life, I mean about some obscure things that have somehow affected me profoundly without an explanation of why they affected me so much. Things that I should have forgotten by now, but haven't. Have you ever crossed paths with someone whom for whatever reason was only in your life for a brief second, but you can't forget about them? I have a sketchy at best recollection of some major events in my life, so how do I remember every detail of something so seemingly insignificant? This kind of thing perplexes me. Why do some details of your life stand out over others? I still do believe things happen for a reason; not in a way that suggests life is pre-planned, but in a way that if something that should be fleeting or just another day becomes so profound for you that it becomes part of who you are, it MUST have a purpose to it.

There is something I write down every day. A little bit of information I jot down on a small white notepad every. single. day. I keep it with me at all times. I never forget to do it. It is THAT important to me. I've been doing it for awhile now; long enough that I have filled up many notepads. I guess you could say I am obsessive, but it doesn't run my life, it is just a part of my life now. The information I write down is information that comes to me every day. If that information ever stops coming to me, I'm not sure how I will react. Inevitably, it will some day, stop. I know that. I have quit trying to analyze why I do this, I've just accepted it. I look forward to it. There is only one other person in the whole world that would probably be interested in this information besides myself. Actually, they would probably be more interested in why I keep it more than what it is. The information is nothing special. If I died tomorrow, the notepads would be of no use to anyone. Evidence suggests this person has been affected by me as well, in a way that I'm sure makes no sense to them either.

Life is strange. It can be ugly, it can be beautiful, and yes, it can also be very, very strange.

She's funny, that one.

My mom says some pretty funny things.

Mom: I'm cold, it's freezing!!
Me: Ma, it's 70 degrees outside.
Mom: Well, I have no thermalation!

Thermalation??

Cookbooks, A Drink, and Me

Playing with the Nikon