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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

New puppy!

On top of moving to a new city, starting a new job, and overall craziness, we decided to adopt a puppy! We adopted her from Austin Pets Alive, an amazing no kill animal shelter here in Austin. She's a shelter puppy, so she's having some adjustment issues but we all are. I've never had an indoor dog, she's kind of ornery but super sweet!




She also, clearly, poses for pictures and acts crazy. She's about 10 months old and is an Australian Cattle Dog, blue heeler mix. We named her Dottie! She's happy and active, so we've all been getting more exercise due to all of the walks we go on daily. 

Which brings me to my point. Adjusting to walking with a dog! I've gotten some advice, such as getting a leader since she is adjusting to being leashed as well. I'm enjoying having her, and once she is leashed trained I'm looking forward to running some trails with her. The shelter said she's super smart and bad ha ha. She tugs like crazy, barks at people and other dogs (though if they are willing to come near her, she stops and just wants to play with them). So lots to learn with her but I'm excited. She has decided that my son is her human and she must protect him. If he takes a shower, or goes outside with friends to play,  she pouts outside the door whimpering.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Work/Life Balance

This is something I am being forced to learn and it’s tough! I leave my house for work around 7 a.m., get to work between 7:30 to 7:45, and leave work at 5. Not a horrible schedule, and I live about 12 miles from work. I was a stay at home Mom for most of my child’s life, so not being his main caregiver is really strange! We’re both feeling a little weird about it but trying to adjust. It’s tough, but I’m trying to make the best of it. Right now, the main thing that has taken a back seat has been working out. We adopted a puppy from a shelter, so I end up on a few, very tugging the leash, filled walks, but other than that, not much. I have dumbbells and a barbell at home, but something about being in a gym is much more motivating.

What’s your motivation? Mine, being around other health minded people, and of course, new workout clothes!


I’m looking into a few gyms around here now. Life Time Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness being the main ones. Pros and cons are weighing heavily on my mind!

I posted some Mom meme collages that I definitely have been able to relate to the last few years. Being a single mom for 6 years has been tough, 

Being a working Mom, and trying to balance all of that (plus the new puppy), eating healthy and working out is exhausting! Anyone have any tips for this? 

Relevant meme collages!


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Book count 2013...so far

I don't know what has gotten in to me this year. Maybe I feel guilty for the lack of reading the last few years (damn you technology!) but I have been reading up a storm this year in both real book form and on my Kindle. Here is the list I am up to so far in no particular order. It makes it seem like all I do is sit around and read. Ha ha. I don't! I'm actually a speed reader, and therefore I finish books very quickly. I like eclectic reads and will go from fiction, non-fiction, religion, or whatever catches my fancy!

  1. Darkly Dreaming Dexter
  2. Dearly Devoted Dexter
  3. Looking for Alaska
  4. The Wedding
  5. Bend in the Road
  6. Safe Haven
  7. The Age of Miracles
  8. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
  9. The Descendants
  10. Anna Karenina (reread)
  11. The Restorer
  12. The Abandoned
  13. The Kingdom
  14. Fall of Giants
  15. Messenger
  16. Gathering Blue
  17. The Giver
  18. Dark Places
  19. Gone Girl
  20. Lady of Ashes
  21. All He Ever Wanted
  22. The Jezebel
  23. Austensibly Ordinary
  24. Anansi Boys
  25. The Plague of Doves
  26. The Peach Keeper
  27. The Beautiful and the Damned
  28. Half the Sky
  29. The Sisterhood
  30. The Izu Dancer
  31. All Whom I Have Loved
  32. Dear John
  33. The Girl Who Chased the Moon
  34. Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children
  35. Sweet Tooth
  36. The Devil in the White City
  37. Anne Perry: Murder of the Century
  38. The Namesake
  39. The Time Keeper
  40. The Help
  41. Have a Little Faith
  42. Beyond Ordinary
  43. The Vow
  44. Four Corners of the Sky
  45. Thirteen Reasons Why
  46. Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky
  47. Dead Until Dark
  48. Silver Linings Playbook
  49. The Alchemist
  50. Brida
  51. American Gods
  52. Ender's Game
  53. Blue Nights
  54. The Pillars of the Earth
  55. Fables Vol. 1
  56. Her Fearful Symmetry
  57. Middlesex (reread)
  58. Love in the Time of Cholera (reread)
  59. Time Traveler's Wife (reread)
  60. The Firebird
  61. Manuscript Found in Accra
  62. An Abundance of Katherine's
  63. The Fault in Our Stars
  64. Beautiful Creatures
  65. Beautiful Darkness
  66. The Returned
  67. Shakespeare's Landlord
  68. Shakespeare's Champion
  69. Shakespeare's Christmas
  70. No Man is an Island
  71. The Engagements
  72. The Cave
  73. Wintergirls
  74. Ready Player One
  75. Ocean at the End of the Lane
  76. A Matter of Days
  77. Beautiful Chaos
  78. The Burgess Boys
  79. Mariana
  80. Night Film
  81. The Prophet (Graveyard Queen Series)
  82. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
  83. Language of Flowers
  84. The Dinner
  85. This Is How I Find Her
  86. Sisterland
  87. Oh Dear Sylvia
  88. Never Let Me Go
  89. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
  90. Beautiful Redemption
  91. History of God
  92. Sharp Objects
  93. The Winter Palace
  94. Shadowy Horses
Currently Reading
  1. Death by Meeting
  2. The Corpse Reader
  3. Island Beneath the Sea
Here is my GoodReads link in case anyone is interested!