Dog discussion

This is a very random blog but I wanted to share some thoughts/ideas/discoveries with you about dogs.

If you own a dog I think you know that the moment you got him/her your life changed. I know mine did - but in such a great way. And of course, I think that my puppy is the cutest puppy ever and the sweetest (and craziest, most spoiled, rotten, etc). Here are some flashbacks of Mia before I give my opinions and get on my soapbox:)

Mia during the first couple of days that we had her -- already attached to Derrick:) They are best friends and she is OBSESSED with him. She follows him around everywhere he goes, doesn't like to go outside without him, races back in the door when we come back inside to find him instead of getting a treat, and pushes me out of the bed to sleep next to him.

Mia's first grooming:) She looks so precious!

Mia's first Christmas! My mom bought her this little sweatshirt - 'Reindeer in Training'. This was my Christmas card:)


Mia on her birthday. Doesn't she look like she is so proud to be 1??

Okay, now that I'm done bragging about how adorable and silly she is here are a couple things I have discovered about dogs.

1. I hate Frontline Plus. I know hate is a strong word and that is a bold statement but I truly do. I used Frontline Plus for over a year, from the time we got her until we moved to Austin. As soon as we moved here Mia became infested with fleas. We are assuming that the fleas were here when we moved in since we did not bring them with us. We did everything we could think of - flea baths, apple cider vinegar, bombing, professional exterminators, vacuuming daily, washing the sheets and pillows and her toys daily. Then one weekend we watched my friends dog and I prepared them about the fleas. Their dog was here for 5 days, never saw a flea on him and he didn't go home with them either. That's when I started thinking --- hmm.... I started a new box of Frontline when we moved here. Maybe it was a bad box. Also, my mom 's friend suggested using Advantage. She said it works better on fleas and although it doesn't cover ticks, Mia is an indoor dog and gets brushed daily so we can check for them more. Well, I looked up Frontline on the computer and it said "100% one time money back guarantee" as long as you had the lot number and original receipt. Check. So I called and explained my situation and asked for my money back. The lady told me no, I didn't qualify because I didn't follow the directions on the box. I had told her previously that my mom's friend (who is a vet tech) suggested that I put it on every 3 weeks, not 4, because that is the cycle of the flea. So the lady claims that because I didn't follow the directions I was not allowed to have the money back. WHAT!? That makes no sense! I only did that twice and wouldn't you think it would have been more effecting!? It STILL didn't work. I told her, 'okay, forget I said that - now can I have my money back?'. She said no and that they record all conversations so I wouldn't be getting it back even if I called back (she must've had ESP because I was definitely thinking that). BEWARE --- their little advertisement is unfair.

2. I LOVE ADVANTAGE! On a brighter note, Mia's fleas are gone:) In a matter of 2 weeks from applying the Advantage the fleas are gone. Well, let me rephrase that. Mia still has the occasional flea on her, but it moves like molasses and sometimes just falls off of her and is dead. The Advantage works wonders. I cannot believe that after battling for 2 months, after 1 application of Advantage they are dying and gone. I still vacuum and see them in the canister so I know they are still here and that will take a little time to get rid of ALL of them but they are not leaving flea dirt on Mia and cannot survive on her anymore. SWITCH TO ADVANTAGE if you can:) It works miracles and I think they do have a kind that does kill ticks too but I don't use that one.

3. Lastly, if you have a dog and you don't clip coupons - YOU'RE CRAZY!!! You can save SO MUCH money with the dog treat/food coupons. Some of the treats are 4-5 dollars and I average spending 1-1.50 per bag of treats. Mia has so many bags of treats its kind of disgusting. Right now we have 8 opened bags and 9 unopened. I guess I kind of think of her like she is a human (go figure... if you're as crazy about your dog as I am that is no surprise) so I feel that she needs variety. It's kind of an addiction for me... to see how cheap I can get treats. I think the best buy that I have gotten are the Cesar treats that come in the little silver bags - usually 2.98 at Wal Mart and they have $2 off coupons so I get them for .98 and you get 75!! It awesome and they are small and perfect size for a little after-bathroom treat:) I also love to go to Petco and go to their Rawhide bar section and buy a couple different kinds. She doesn't get them often but when she does she LOVES them:)

So there you have it:) Happy Sunday and go buy a Sunday paper for the doggie coupons at least:)

The talks

In a relationship there are many moments for talking. You have to talk about everything to have a great relationship I think. Derrick and I spend a lot of time talking and just hanging out. We own a very small tv but it is not hooked up so I don't even own cable. When he isn't here I catch up on my shows through hulu.com. We drive at least 25 minutes each way to the airport so yet again... more time for talking. And now that the weather is nice we love to take Mia across the street to the lake and walk, and talk... :) Because we are getting ready to make a huge commitment (no not marriage... that's a whole different talk that we don't have which I talk about more in later on.... buying a house/condo commitment) we are doing a lot talking. Each talk has a different title and theme I feel:)


The "what kind of place do you want" talk: house or condo? outskirts or downtown? big or small? Derrick and I continue to have this talk and I think it goes to show that we are still not sure what we want. We have so many different ideas but we have definitely found some great places thus far. I'm excited to see what we find and finally end up buying! I think he has finally got the point that I will not buy a studio or 1 bedroom. To me it just makes no sense.... I want a place that has space. The apartment we are in now is smaller than my old one so many of my boxes I couldn't even unpack:( Outskirts or downtown is very back and forth. Initially I thought downtown was pointless, but the more that we venture down there I realize I was wrong. We do go down there a lot for dinner and/or drinks and I would love to be closer. Hence our next "talk"

The "are you planning on going out every night if we live downtown?" talk: A couple weeks ago we went to dinner downtown and then decided to walk around and see the city at night a little bit more. As we walked we talked about where I could take Mia if we lived down here, where I would run to the store, traffic, and my big question - why? Why do you want to live downtown? Is it to go out all the time because I did not want that. (ps... his answer was no ... shew). Once we talked more I realized that I did like the idea. It is convenient to live downtown actually. Close to my school, closer to the airport, and close to a lot of great places to see and things to do. I'm coming around to the idea and although we wouldn't be able to live centrally downtown I think the outskirts of downtown are looking pretty good:)

The "how will we buy furniture" talk: Furniture is tricky. We need it, but how do you split it up? I know he is sick of moving my bedroom furniture, especially now that it got ruined by my awesome moving company (grrrr I still hate you because I still haven't received all of my money!). I want to keep it of course for a guest room but maybe not the giant dresser that is now lumpy and lopsided. I'd love a new bedroom set eventually to go in a new place:) We also need and want a desk for our computers. Well, it was decided that we wouldn't split the furniture. We would just take turns buying what we needed. And he made it very clear to me that I would not be sharing a desk with him for our computers. He claims that I would "rearrange" everything when he left so his desk will be off limits to me. (puh- leeezzz... he acts like I clean and move everything around when he leaves to a more organized place so it looks better.... okay... I do do that, and so does my mom and my sister! look people, it's our way or the highway when it comes to clutter!)

The talk we are not having - marriage: And no, not because neither of want to be married. A lot of people ask me, 'so, have you talked about marriage yet?' No... we haven't. And no... it doesn't bother me - for many reasons. I for one do not want to have a part in an engagement, if and when it does happen. I do not want to have a clue about anything. Besides that, I just don't find it necessary. I know we have a strong, healthy, and happy relationship and I don't need to have a weekly or monthly discussion about getting married to feel better about it. If we are planning on buying a place together then things are going better than great... end of story:)

So those are the talks we have had thus far. No arguments and really I am enjoying this process with him. I'm hoping it stays fun and laid back:) Because we are in no hurry to buy I think it will! Positive thinking!!

A little ambitious I must say

My life hasn't been too exciting the past couple of weeks so I haven't had much to blog about, but next week should make for an interesting one! We have parent teacher conferences on Monday, which means no kiddos but sometimes I'd rather teach them and be crazy than sit and say the same things over and over again to a different set of parents every 20 minutes. The upside to this is that the parents can stop asking , 'How is ____________ doing really? Are you concerned? Should we be?'. Now they will know:) Don't get me wrong, I will totally be that parent too, but I hope to try my hardest to remember all of the unnecessary conversations and questions from parents that irk me when I have kids!

So, we only have a 4 day teaching week, but also next week is my first field trip with my kids! We are going to a farm and it sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun! I'm expecting a ton of my parents to show up (they don't have to sign up because we know enough will show up to help us out) so I'm excited to not feel so overwhelmed with all of the students!

Then comes my ambitious act next week.... and I hope that I am overly preparing myself and slightly overly stressing myself out about this. I am papier mache-ing (for the first time ever for myself and with my class) with my class of 17 students.... we are going to make pumpkins.

Am I crazy!?! I hope not! One of my rock star moms suggested doing it outside and she is going to come and bring table cloths, giant folding tables, and help out with mache control:) I know the kids will enjoy it so much and I hope this is one memory they take with them forever... so in all reality - do I really care if they go home with it in their hair? Of course not!! We are going to have a blast!! I hope to remember to post pics of the finished pumpkins (without kids of course) so you can see their wonderful, independent, no help from me, papier mache! Who predicts lumpy, lopsided pumpkins??

The students don't know they are doing this huge art project yet so I know they will be uber-excited when they find out. I'm sure I'll hear wonderful questions such as this one I heard last week from my hilarious, favorite little girl when I pulled out paint and just let them go to town, "are you going to rip out your hair and be bald if we spill it?". So funny:) And for those of you wondering... no paint was spilled and even if it was I would very calmly say, 'go get a paper towel and clean it up'. They're 5 (and 3 of them are 6), what can I expect?

Wish me luck!!!

Fell off the work out wagon:(

Well folks... I heard on the radio when I first started working out that if you make a public announcement about a goal that you are more likely to follow through with it. I not only made an announcement, I have a full on lengthy detail description of it!! And now I'm publicly letting everyone know.... this week I did not follow through and I actually feel guilty. I did work out, but not nearly as much as I am supposed to. I ran 2 miles (yep, didn't even do a 3 miler) and swam 1 day, which means I came up 2 days short. I'm not going to make excuses but... really... well I am - I have a TON of them (obviously none of them my fault - just like the other night when we went out to for a 'glass of wine' and the next morning my excuse for a terrible headache was that it was the last bottle of the specific wine for the season, of course I had to not only order the whole bottle but also not share it). I'm going to explain why I fell off the wagon and hopefully next week I will have a better update.

Excuses:
1. Derrick was here all week and I really wanted to hang out with him
2. All of the 5K's for the next couple weeks are not in Austin or they only have 10 K's or marathons which I'm not ready for so I haven't signed up for anything, leaving me not working towards a goal
3. I already reached my goal and know that I can run 3 miles... time for a new goal?
4. Last week my legs started to hurt reallllly bad and on Saturday they became very crampy and uncomfortable. My thought was it must be all of the running I was doing because this has never happened before and I had never run this much before. I mentioned it to Derrick and he said, 'you're fine, go eat a banana'. AND THAT'S WHEN IT CLICKED! For the past 2 years every morning I have eaten a banana. Once I moved here though I stopped. **WARNING ... VERY FRUGAL EXCUSE WHY COMING NEXT** In Charlotte produce was expensive, so the cheapest fruit to buy was a banana. In Austin all of the produce is cheap so I have been enjoying other fruits. Guess I need to go back to bananas and a bonus fruit:)
5. I was getting back in shape and toned up for a cruise we were planning on taking for NY's. The cruise sky rocketed in price the day I went to book it so again... nothing to work towards.

Really... I have no excuse. For the past month I have ran almost everyday in the blazing sun and heat... now that the weather has turned BEAUTIFUL I have stopped! I'm a moron. So now after pep talking myself I hope to get back on the bandwagon of running and do this again. Time to go find a 5K!!!!! GO KATIE (Yep... I cheer myself on)

House hunting... the beginning

Ah... don't you love looking up houses and dreaming about all of the ways you could make it your own? A little paint here... a little picture there... well I sure do! Derrick and I decided that we would rent an apartment for 7 months and then plan to buy. The time is hot - so why not!?! Well... although our lease isn't up till February I've decided to plan ahead (thank you mother... I also inherited that gene) and start looking! There are so many great areas in the Austin but here a few dilemmas we have run into:

1. The airport isn't in an ideal location for us to live by... but the commute to the airport is kind of not fun so we are trying to work around that

2. I want to be close to my school but well... unfortunately I don't make enough money to live next door to Lance Armstrong (that's right... I'm famous and his kids go to my school.... that makes me famous right?). We are having to look on the outskirts of my school which is still pricey

3. Derrick would like to be near downtown. I on the other hand would not considering it is so much more pricey and we rarely go down there (three times since moving here), although he claims we would go down there more if we lived closer....

4. Derrick says (I can write this stuff because he doesn't read my blog... muahaha) that I have an "image" in my head of the perfect house. He is SO wrong. I just have an idea... lots of ideas.... all of which I am willing to sacrifice if it means I find something better ... like a better idea! But honestly... my major 'wants' are a safe location that I can run and walk Mia in, appliances included, and a minimum of 2 bedrooms for when other people visit (I'd love 2 bathrooms so we wouldn't have to share with guests but see.... I can sacrifice...)

The issue we currently are having is an investment home vs. a home home. I want to buy a home to live in, and decorate, and love. Derrick wants to buy a place to sell in a couple years and make a profit. But again.... I am so awesome and willing to work together that I will agree to an investment if it means I can get my perfect home (not that I have an image or anything) in the future.

So anywho... on the hunt I go. Derrick's not here and I have nothing better to do than look. I have really fallen in love with ... I mean really started looking into... this area called the Arboretum. It has everything which I love! It is super convenient with grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, easy access to the main roads, and walking trails. I love it! So I started looking in the area and there are a lot of townhomes available in the area. Not only are they available but they are pretty awesome (they have everything I WOULD want if I had an idea). Granite countertops, hardwood floors, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, separate shower and garden tub in master bath, tile backsplash in kitchen, stainless steel appliances, a garage for my new car, a fireplace, a huge archway upon entering... okay yep.... I want this one. So bad that on Sunday I brought Mia along to go take a peek and it got even better... it is in a gated community AND across the street from a church. HELLO - God would keep me safe! I have to live here! At first I opted to not tell Derrick because I was afraid he would get mad at me for looking too far into it but I told him... and he said we would definitely have to check out the area. It is closer to school (about a 10 min drive) and closer to the airport (google maps says 20 min v. our current 25-30 but my friends say we could do it closer to 15). And another bonus... it's dropped 15,000 in price already because it needs to sell. Ah c'mon.... I wanna buy it now! Hopefully no one else in the world is looking to move to Austin and no one else finds this place because in a couple months... it will be mine.... not that I have already made plans for the colors of the rooms or anything.... well kind of but nothing is set in stone.

So... that is where I stand right now. On the hunt, but not really, shouldn't really be looking, but I am. Oh well! Might as well enjoy it right?! Happy Monday!

What have I been up to?

Well I haven't blogged in 2 weeks and of course it's Sunday (last Sunday I was operating on 1 hour of sleep from the wedding) so I am playing catch up today!

Last weekend was my great friend Ashley's wedding. I flew to Charleston on Thursday and flew home on Sunday. My commute was the worst part but the trip made up for it. Thursday was nice and easy to get out there but on Sunday I had to work to get home! I decided to not drink at the reception because I planned to drive from Charleston to Charlotte, NC and sleep for about 2-3 hours at my friend Danielle's house and then take the 6am flight out of Charlotte. The Charlotte flight had 16 open seats and the Charleston had 0... and as you know I fly stand by so I have to take the flight that looks the best! Well.... the transportation back from the wedding got a little bit messed up and we didn't get back to the hotel until 12:00am... I had planned to leave by 10:30! So I opted to sleep for an hour in the hotel, woke up at 1am, got in the rental car and drove 3 1/2 hours straight to the Charlotte airport. Got on the flight at 6am, got to Houston and flew to Austin by 10:15. I had planned to nap but one thing led to another and I was just going strong getting things done! Whew!

I have kept up with my work out plan and am still running 2 miles a day. Today will be my first 3 miler and it is like Austin wants me to run it today... it couldn't be a more gorgeous day! Hopefully I survive (I know I will:)).

I went to one of my mom's from my class houses' on Wednesday to have a get to know me and welcome to Casis party. It was awesome! Wine and wonderful food (although I never made it to the table of food... grr... it did look awesome). I got to hang out with all of them and they got to know me better which they all really enjoyed!

On Thursday I did dinner with some people from my school which was nice to get out and enjoy a late dinner. Also, Thursday after school one of the male teacher's is starting a work out routine which he plans to do every Thursday which is great for me! And it's super fun to do with everyone and do a different kind of work out than running.

Friday I relaxed and went to bed early to get some catch up sleep.

Saturday Mia got groomed finally:) While she got groomed I bombed the apartment for the 4th time and then went to pick her up. She won over the hearts of the groomers and they kept her out front with them and played with her after she was done. They also did an amazing job and Mia was so happy when I got there! She had cute little pigtails in her hair which I fell in love with:)


I cleaned and we then went to the lake across the street to relax and hang out. Mia didn't know how to relax and opted to go crazy after the squirrels and ducks.

Trying to figure out how to get to the animals stuck on a leash
Isn't she adorable? Even with the leaf hanging out of her mouth!?

I then rented a movie and drank some wine.

Today I'm planning on laying out!! It is chilly in the morning here but gets in the low 80's during the day which is perfect weather:) Ahhh fall in Austin:)

Charleston wedding

My wonderful college friend/sorority sister got married last weekend in Charleston, SC. It was a wedding/weekend to remember with all of my college friends and sorority sisters back together again! I had never been to Charleston before, although I lived 3 1/2 hours from it for 3 years, so I took off Thursday and Friday from to school to go and sight see for a bit. On a bonus Derrick was also off which is the first wedding he has been to with me since my friend Danielle's back in 2008 and this was the first time he met any of my sorority sisters. When they first met him they all said "so this is the mystery man". I claimed that I had to quickly call a male escort number to find someone that could play the part:) Another bonus was that my sorority sisters Michelle and Linsey also came in on Thursday! Thursday we walked around for a bit to get a feel for Charleston. Then Derrick and I got picked up by my childhood/high school friend Alisa who lives in Charleston and went out to dinner. Our view was priceless and I could see why she called it the best southern city.

Out to dinner view

She then dropped us off at another place where Ashley, Joe, Michelle, Linsey, and all of Joe's groomsmen were at. We hung out there then headed out to a bar but we were exhausted from a day of traveling so we called it a night very quickly.

On Friday we got up early (8:45 we all woke up for our free breakfast!). We then quickly got ready and headed out by 10am to catch our hotel shuttle downtown. We spent the whole day downtown and I fell in love with Charleston. We got pedicures (Derrick was a trooper and never complained while waiting... that's why I love him) and then met up with a college friend, Mike, who knew the city pretty well and showed us around. We hit up a couple different bars for their happy hour and to cool off because it was extremely hot the whole weekend.

Our first stop - the Custom House to get a cute shot of us girls
Stop off to beat the heat - Wet Willies:)
Derrick and I down by the Battery - an awesome area full of amazing houses
My favorite picture of us - thanks Lins:)

We were running a little bit late and had to quickly rush to get ready and head back out for the rehearsal dinner. It was beautiful and Ashley got all of her bridesmaids very simple yet beautiful Tiffany's necklaces (MY FIRST BLUE BOX!). Afterwards Joe and Ashley held an open bar at a local bar for all of their guests. That was when the fun really started!! Everyone together again for the first time in years! I LOVED it!

Ready to go to the rehearsal dinner
The girls with the bride-to-be Ashley at the rehearsal dinner

Saturday was an early morning for us. We had to wake up around 7:30 to be showered and out the door by 8:45. We had our hair done and got ready at this cute bridal house that the salon opens for bridal party's. It was so cute and fun to have the whole place to ourselves and watch Ashley turn into a beautiful bride.
Ashley ready minus her veil


We then loaded into the limo and headed around the corner to a beautiful church where the ceremony took place. Ashley and Joe loaded into a horse and carriage and it was like a scene out of a movie with everyone, even tourists, taking pictures. We then drove around and took pictures for a couple hours and headed to the reception which was beyond breathtaking. A huge plantation home with all of the tables set up on the veranda. A candle lit path out to a huge white tent with a black and white dance floor and a live band. It was an amazing night for all of us but the best part was that Ashley became a Mrs.:)

The site of the reception - gorgeous - behind it was where the tent was
The tent with the dancing, cake, bar, and band

Ashley and Joe walking into the reception
Tri Deltas at the reception