Slacker

It's been brought to my attention that I am seriously slacking on the correspondence lately so here is a run-down of the haps. I'm using a few bits of an email I sent to my dad, so sorry for the regurgitation pops.

Work: I've been planning our sales meeting on Tuesday, which entails finding and securing event space for 150 people, coordinating catering and hotel rooms and building powerpoint presentations. My boss frequently like to change the plan which means I spend a good portion of my time chasing my tail and making apologetic phone calls. I'm also building a new website for our sales team which is really fun but also trying because I haven't done it since college and, wouldn't you know it, the whole web thing has really changed. I'm teaching myself CSS and relearning HTML... it's fun though. Oh, and they've started laying people off so I guess I should be thankful, no matter how much time I spend silently crying in my cube.

School: This term has proven to be more challenging than last but I'm still really enjoying it. I had a paper due last week that kept me up past midnight for a week strait but I learned a lot about Facebook. Yes, I got to write a paper about Facebook! This week I will be working on a financial analysis of Target.. turns out I got some pretty wicked math skills from my dad and I'm not too shabby at the accounting stuff, although I am still learning what the results mean - i.e. is it good or bad if the dividend ratio is high? I guess I'll figure that out Saturday when I sit down to write. The first day of my accounting class I was pretty sure I was going to die a slow death from boredom but my instructor has turned out to be a pretty funny guy and does a really good job of explaining the concepts.

Life: Let's see, Sabine passed in December and I'm still struggling with that - not that I cry on a daily basis, but it's weird to come home to an empty house. I've been thinking of getting a new pooch but know it would be better to wait until after my trip to China in June. I've paid for a little over half the trip and am considering investing in Rosetta Stone language tapes so I can be little more prepared than I was in Korea. We will have tour-guides, but its always nice to be able to do basic items.. like find the bathroom.

I was rear-ended by a cargo van on my lunch break a few weeks ago and he did more damage to my neck and back than he did to my car. He claimed he was going about 5 miles an hour but considering he destroyed the steel reinforcement beam on the back of my car I beg to differ. Anyway, I get to go to the chiropractor and get massages three times a week for the next twelve weeks. I've also started seeing a naturopath/ accupuncturist/ hippy doctor and really like her. The irony of the whole injury is that i was on my way to join the gym when I was hit. R and I were planning to run a 5k next month but it looks like I may be walk/jogging it... I'm still down 35 pounds but stalled and need to lose more so I need to up the exercise.

Still seeing the boy, going on 5 months now, which is a record for me. He is still wonderful - can't complain about a man that cooks and occasionally vacuums your house, even if it is might be because your house is so disgusting he can't stand it.

And that's about it. Have a Christmas party to attend tomorrow (our office party was cancelled due to weather) and might go to the closing party at Jerry's, everyone's favorite wine bar. I'm pretty sad that they are closing. Stupid economy.

The Year in Blog

2008 has probably been the most interesting and favorite of the last few years. In January I was honored to be one of the lucky few attendees at Sara Lou & Stew's fabulous Timberline wedding. I'm not sure I had ever had so much fun at a wedding before, and I'm not sure I've ever been so cold in a hot tub! Soon after, in February, I was asked to take a big trip for work and started the long preparation & freak out process. I started blogging, and so did Sabine. Sadly, Sabinedog's blog seems to have been removed from the internet - too bad, because her posts were hella funny!

On March 7th, I departed for my two month adventure in Seoul. Flying to Korea in 1st class was the last easy thing about the trip, but I had a lot of fun and learned many things about the country, the culture, my job and myself. Highlights for March include staying at The Dormy, seeing Jason Mraz, learning about the layoffs at home and drinking Soju with friends.By April I had started to get a little homesick but was still trying to make the best of the trip. I got to see the entire city from Namsan Tower, along with the amazing cherry blossoms. I went shopping in Insadong and had the best night of my trip at Lotte World!

When I landed in California the first thing I did was send a text message to all my friends that said "I love this Country!" Being home had never felt better and I spent most of May enjoying the company of my friends and my dog. I bought my lovely little mac and started making plans to leave my employer.

BeansandNuts was born in July, I hired little Russian men to work on my kitchen, signed up for a great diet program and I attended my second wedding for the year. X and I took a little camping trip to Ft. Stevens State Park with the dogs in August. When I returned, I gave my notice at work and willingly became unemployed for the first time in five years.

The MBA program at Marylhurst seemed like a great fit, so I started classes in September and began making friends. I was down 30 lbs on my diet and I turned 30 years old! Jayna and Eric came to visit for the Miss White Trash Pageant, I attended a pub crawl, and I met the man. I think September might have been my favorite month. After just one (amazing!) month of freedom, I accepted a job in October. I went to see Matt Nathanson with a hot date and attended two more weddings - a small courthouse ceremony and a charming beach wedding that ended at the Sportsman Pub and Grub.

Obama won the election by a surprising (to me) landslide in November and I had an absolute blast with my date for Denim & Diamonds. For Thanksgiving, I traveled to Tucson for my fifth (& Final!) wedding of 2008 and reconnected with some amazing friends that I missed more than I ever realized. December brought the tragic loss of my Sabine but also a great, joy filled White Christmas and the birth of a close friends baby boy. I spent about 7 days strait lying on my butt and playing on the internet because I could not leave the house - the snow was beautiful but I'm glad to be mobile again.

As amazing as 2008 was, I think 2009 is going to be even better. I don't think there will be five weddings this year, but you never know.. in the meantime, I'm looking forward to continuing school, learning to snowboard, spending more time with my friends and my guy, meeting the new babies that have arrived or will be arriving soon, attending the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival and going to China. I hope each of you had a great 08 and have an even better 09!!

XOXO

This is what it sounds like when doves cry

A little over two years ago I responded to a craigstlist ad and got the best free item ever: Sabine. Her former human brought her over and she was a bit shy with me. In fact, she downright ignored me for the first few days and I wasn't sure it was going to be a good fit for her. But slowly she opened up and I fell in love with this silly little girl.

Sabine had some really funny little quirks, as all dogs do. She loved to chase squirrels, chew on rawhides and sniff everything on the planet. On Saturday mornings she would wake me up by nudging her head under my arm and rubbing her face all over my belly, which always made me laugh. She had terrible gas and could easily clear out a room. She loved to destroy stuffed animals but never once destroyed anything I didn't give to her. She was such a good dog.

Sabine passed away on Friday afternoon and my heart is very heavy. She brought so much uncomplicated joy into my life and I am so blessed to have had her by my side for two years. I just really hoped to have had a little more time. I was particularly looking forward to the snow this weekend - she loved the snow. I'm sure she is frolicking in doggy heaven, surrounded by giant, dinosaur-sized rawhides and all the squirrels you can chase, but I can't say I'm happy that she departed so soon.

Rest in peace, Baby Girl - I love you and I will miss you.

Gas and Weatherization

This morning I embarked upon weatherizing the bathroom (I'll get back to this) and was on a ladder when Sabine came in to sniff everything and make sure there were no squirrels hiding in there. As she was shuffling around she let out this little squeaky fart, which is not unusual at all because my dog farts all the time. What was absolutely hysterical is that she immediately whipped around to look at her butt, with this puzzled look on her face, as if to say "where did that come from? Is there a squirrel in there?" I nearly fell off the ladder I was laughing so hard.

Now, back to weatherization. I figure I should explain since the majority of my readers live in Arizona. Up here we have these things called seasons. I think in Arizona you call them Hot Months, Unbearably Hot Months, Monsoon and Perfect Weather. Here in Oregon we have different seasons : Rainy, Rainy & Sweltering, Rainy & Cold and Rainy, Cold & Dark. To prepare for the last two we embark on a week long process of preparing to not freeze to death. Some people have the money to afford storm windows and insulation. For the rest of us, we use caulk to seal all the windows shut, then "shrink wrap" them with sheets of plastic and invest in blankets. It's really fun and a great way to waste money on things in the hopes of not having a $200 heating bill, although it never works.

I has a bear

Don't let that innocent face fool you, moments after this picture was taken the bear was headless and I'm still picking up his innards.

Like a small pony.

If you read SabineDog you know who Noro is. While the lovely Miss V was out of town I tried to capture him on film so that I could prove to everyone that my dog is really not that big. For reference, Sabine weights about 85lbs, and yes, they are really standing side by side.

Greetings

(as posted by Sabine)

Sabine: OMG, car noise. Beep beep. OMG, the treat machine is home. Commence wagging of tail. Commence cuteness. Thump, thump, thump (tail banging into everything). Ooooooo, key noise. Human is near. Door is opening. If I look cute enough I will get treats.

Me: Hi Baby!!

Sabine: Snausages! Bacon! Rawhide! I love you!

Me: Gotta pee, Gotta pee, Gotta Pee.

Sabine: Hey, quit sitting on my water bowl and take me to the park, bitch. Then get me some bacon, look at how cute I am. Otherwise I will be forced to lay on my back and show you my ultra-cute spotted pink belly. BACON!