Weekend Wrap Up - In Pictures

Loved spending some time with this guy - finally healthy and drug free. I even took a picture with rollers in, so as to let his beauty shine.



He's been spoiled rotten this week. Hence the $10 organic dog treats.


Non-organic human treats.

Blondes have more fun.

I think I'm officially afraid of the mob. And Joe Pesci.

I'm returning my hall pass and trying not to spend this week counting down until Friday.

A significant legacy is written through the seemingly insignificant details of our daily actions. Consider this truth as you return emails and race to meeting and encounter strangers. It's in the little things that we make a difference for others ... and a meaningful life for ourselves.

Friday Favorites and 200

This week has felt like at least three crammed into one. I had a deeper post in mind, but it will have to wait, as its taken me 10 minutes to compose this one sentence. Blogger tells me yesterday was my 200th post. I knew I bought that bottle of zinfandel yesterday for a reason.

I'm really trying to be all "enjoy the journey" and "not wishing your life away for the weekend" lately, but can I get a hall pass this week? Here's a few little favorites that make the week happier.

MS got me this for Christmas. I'm not even sure what you call it - we call it beanie, because it feels like its filled with beans, but I'm sure there's a less childish name. I'm not usually into the whole home massage and relaxation market, but I use this everyday without fail. Microwave for a minute and a half, apply where needed. I usually take it to bed and it puts me right to sleep. It's made by Earth Therapeutics, just in case googling "beanie" gets you nowhere.

I like this because, well, it's good in my coffee.

Just a friendly reminder, the last week before running will involve an excel spreadsheet.


A big thing that makes me happy - this guy. He got up and fixed me a hot breakfast, complete with a tall glass of chocolate milk, without even reminding me he was eating at work.

I think this 201st post left something to be desired, so thanks for reading. Here's to the weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Eat Your Colors

Reneging On Our Deal

Years ago, for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to watch Marley and Me. I'm not sure why I thought this was a good way to spend a Friday night. If you're a dog owner/lover, I would advise you to remove it from your Netflix Queue immediately.
I got two takeaways from this movie.

An ugly cry.

And a tall order for Namath - he was not allowed to die.

He's done a stellar job of upholding his part of the deal. Not so much as a flea bite. Sunday night he decided to stick his toe on the line.

After a full afternoon of panting and anxiety that led into an evening of panting and more anxiety, I camped out on the couch to see if he would lay down and go to sleep. By 2 a.m. it was time to make a tough call - wait out the night and take him to his vet in the morning, or head to the emergency vet. By this time Google had convinced me his stomach was twisted into his lungs, he was deathly allergic to his pills and I was certain each breath would be his last - so we packed up for the vet.

Never one to give up control, it was quite the struggle to get his blood drawn and get his IV in to bring down his 105 degree fever. When the doctor called us back to show us the x-ray, all I heard was we should hope for kidney stones, because if it wasn't that, we were looking at something very serious, possibly lymphoma. We got to visit him all hooked up to the IV and doped out before we left. Heartbreaking.

I cried all the way home, cried myself to sleep for 20 minutes, texted all my friends to say a quick prayer and got up to pick him up as soon as they opened to take him for an ultrasound at his regular vet, praying desperately for kidney stones.

After an accident in the car that I was sure was a sign of his imminent death, we arrived at the vet and got back to see him pretty quickly. He examined the x-ray and bloodwork, did his own exam and finally determined, at worst, he has a colon infection requiring some simple antibiotics.

And some active culture yogurt.

We were beyond relieved and went home to rest. By rest, I mean serve as witness to the five hour fire alarm inspection conveniently scheduled in our complex Monday.

I've been playing Jamie Lee Curtis and spoon feeding him yogurt and drafting something in writing in case he decides to pull out on our deal again.

Friday and Some Favorites

It's Friday, and although I plan to celebrate later with a glass of cab, I'll celebrate this morning by passing on a few of my newest favorite things.

I let liquid liner intimidate me for far too long. It's a little tricky, but I like the look of it so much more than the pencils I was using that faded by lunch time.

I love how easy this one is to apply. Some mornings go better than others, but you can't beat the consistency, or the price for that matter.

I'm a BIG fan of self tanner/bronzer, since I use 45 spf at the pool. Unfortunately, I strayed from my favorite brand, and the replacement just wasn't cutting it this summer. I won't name any names. After searching at drugstores all over Birmingham, I was forced to order this classic on Amazon. Totally worth it.

The first time I saw a running skirt, I gave it a big eye roll. "Do we really have to wear skirts to work out in now?!" This had nothing to do with their looks and everything to do with my K-4 to 12th grade dress code that required skirts "no shorter than 2 inches above the knee sitting or standing."

Well, sorry Mrs. Margene, this skirt is neither, but it is so comfortable to run in and looks cute at the grocery store after a run. (Don't you want to hang out with me on Saturdays??)

I'm not a blush person at all. But, like anyone else who has read a beauty magazine since 1998, I'm sure you've heard of NARS Orgasm. Scandalous, I know. MS had a field day with this one. On my recent trip to Atlanta, I tried the multiple orgasm, (I know, the hits keep coming), and I was sold on the color.

And if you've never really worn blush and don't have a blush brush, I highly recommend CVS. Not only does it come with this awesome 80's style sketch- bonus points if you can name that song...
It shows you exactly where to apply blush and comes with this tip from, I assume, a top makeup artist, "Use a blush color that complements your skin tone and lipstick choice."

What have we learned today? It's good to branch out, except when it comes to self tanner, and don't try to explain to your husband things only girls understand, like why blush colors have funky and sometimes inappropriate names.

Live and learn and have a great weekend!

Grizz Update

For a dog who, more often than not, is too lazy to lift his leg to pee, Namath has seen his share of adventure lately.

A quick update for all of you who were kind enough to care about the health of his massive head. True story: he cost more soley because his head was "gorgeous" aka: dome size. Yes, apparently I had enough money after college to justify shelling out extra money on large dog heads.

Nice improvement, huh? It's amazing what some time, hydrogen peroxide, anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories can do.

I snapped this picture to get him warmed up for the camera. Doesn't he look skinny?

For comparison sake:

Now that he's healing up nicely and dropping some pounds, we have a bone to pick about a little thing called a J-O-B.

Is it just me, or are bulldogs everywhere? Would it kill him to bring in a little cash money for the family? I think not. You barely have to be conscious to perform this job.


Spoiler alert: Dogs win. Knock me over with a feather.

Livin' on the Edge

As part of the 'pre-training' phase of the marathon, we've been trying to keep running consistently in this sauna as well as eat better in order to lay a good base for the fall.

On my 3.5 hour trek last week, I listened to a good portion of In Defense of Food.

Most of the book can be summarized on the front cover: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Maybe I'm easily amazed, but I was amazed at what the government, food lobbies and 'nutritionism' (his term, not mine) had done to the average American diet. We obsess more about what we eat than any other country, yet we are still some of the most overweight and sickest people in the world.

Rather than getting our nutrients from fresh foods, we settle for processed foods with the same nutrients added in at processing. Instead of getting fiber from apples, we get fiber from cereal bars with added fiber.

It really made me think differently about the way I eat, and isn't that the purpose of books on tape, to make you think?

Enter grocery shopping and the farmers market. We made more of an effort this week to shop the edges of the store, where all the fresh food makes its home, and bought a good amount of vegetables at the farmers market this weekend.

Last night's dinner- baked eggplant, roasted broccoli, pole beans and mashed potatoes.

The roasted broccoli changed me.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not tossing out the ghiradelli brownies, pizza and snickers bars with the bathwater. Everything in moderation, including moderation. Life's too short to go without Snickers.

Pollan wrote a follow up book "Food Rules" that's a very short read that encompasses a lot of the lessons of the first book. I HIGHLY recommend it. Here's a few favorites:

1. Eat foods that will eventually rot.


2. It's not food if it has the same name in all languages (thing Big Mac and Cheetos)

3. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

4.. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third‐grader cannot pronounce.

5. Finally, break the rules once in a while. Obsessing over food rules is bad for your happiness, and probably for your health, too. There will be special occasions when you will want to throw these rules out the window. All will not be lost. What matters is not the special occasion, but the everyday practice - the default habits that govern your eating on a typical day.

See? I didn't totally make that part up about the Snickers.