Mutt Strut 2008

Lucy and I at the Speedway for the Mutt Strut

Mom, Lucy and I at the Mutt Strut

The 2008 Mutt Strut was a huge success. The weather was beautiful and as I looked out over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway all I could see is a sea of dogs and their pet parents.

My wonderful Mother and I participated again this year and we had a blast. I was able to achieve my fundraising goal of $1,000.00 and I am so grateful to my fantastic family and friends who so selflessly donated to this great organization. I am still waiting to hear about the final number of participants and the total money raisied. I look forward to participating in this event again next year. Let me know if you want to join my team next year!

Seattle!

Elisabeth's oldest daughter Grace

Elisabeth and I in Seattle


Space Needle

Pike's Place/Fish Market

Elisabeth and I at the first Starbucks

I treated myself for my birthday with a plane ticket to go out an visit one of my very best friends, Elisabeth, in Seattle. I am in the process of getting all of my photos developed and processed so I can add them to my blog. I had a fantastic time and it was so great to get to spend time with Elisabeth, Landon her husband and their two adorable daughters Grace and Addy.

Elisabeth and I spent all of last Saturday in the city visiting Pike's Place (the infamous Fish Market), the million and one shops they have there, the first Starbucks, the Space Needle and had some great food too. It was wonderful!

On Sunday Elisabeth made me a special birthday dinner and also baked me a birthday cake (so sweet). I am so amazed at how old Grace is and that Addy is about to start walking. They are spitting images of their Dad but absolutely have the personality and soul of their Mom. I still cant believe that Elisabeth has two daughters, has been married for almost five years and lives in Seattle WA. I am so happy for her and she seems happy too. I selfishly wish she lived closer but I am making a promise to go out to visit at least once a year if not more!

I will definitely write more but wanted to document my most recent trip to Seattle and cant wait to share my photos!

My 29th Birthday

29 Years Old...

What a year 28 was...a mixture of some really good experiences and pretty much the bottom of the barrel experiences...I must admit I am not sad to see it go. But best of all, looking back at the past year, I am happy to say that I got through all of those shitty moments when I thought things would never get better. I truly cant imagine where I would be right now if it wasn't for my amazing, supportive, patient, generous and loving parents and sister. They helped me get through so much . And of course I can't begin to say how much my friends' support, patience, kindness and love helped me too. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Most people look at New Year's day as a fresh start to the year....I tend to think of my birthday in much the same way. Starting fresh and new...I have 365 new days to create another chapter in my life...I know this chapter will be filled with fantastic things that are to come my way during this year of being 29. And I am excited!

WOW....I can't believe I am celebrating my 29th birthday today. I have truly never felt older then 16! I absolutely love birthdays but I must admit I have mixed feelings about this birthday.
This birthday is the first birthday in my life where I have woken up in a house all by myself. I have always had my family, roommates and for the last four years Bill there...it was very weird nonetheless.

It is hard to believe this will be the last time I will celebrate a 20-something birthday. I remember crying when I turned 22 because there would be no more landmark birthdays but at the same time I remember thinking 30 seemed so far away. So many things have happened in 9 short years that I can hardly believe how much I have changed and grown in so many ways.

Next year I will be 30 and that freaks me out....ok I'm stopping now...and I am not going to think about it. Instead I am going to focus on celebrating being 29. So far the day has been chill and for the most part enjoyable. I hope the year to come is much the same. (But hopefully filled with a few surprises!)

"Success is NOT the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." -Albert Schweitzer

Quote of the Day

I have been feeling unsure and kind of negative about myself today... I have quotes scribbled on random sheets of paper and they are all tacked up above my desk. Depending on the day one or more of the quotes seem to really make sense. Today the following quote...definitely applies.

"We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies."
- Roderick Thorp

Love this quote and I think it has so much truth to it. More times then not I feel like I am my own worst critic too...judging myself in all aspects...my body, my looks, my job, my intelligence, my sense of humor, my personality....my everything....it is so easy to pick out the things I am not happy about in myself but so much harder to look at all the positive things that I do encompass.

Another thing I have learned over the past year, is that I can get enough criticism and negative thoughts from another person, even someone who claims they love and adore you, so you need not chime in with your own comments.

Who doesn't have imperfections...no one is perfect. Everyone has things about themselves that they wish they could change or improve upon. And some times those things we wish we could change are possible with a little hard work but other times it is a lot more difficult to change. The more I am down on myself about my imperfections the more imperfections I seem to find and then I am in an even worse mood (not to mention having a big, unattractive frown on my face).

It is always so hard to see the positive because being negative is so much easier and it takes less effort. I guess I should take the advice of "Roderick Throp" and stop being my own worst enemy.

Finding the Right Road

I typically don't do more then one posting per day but since I missed a couple days this weekend, I thought I would write another post. I kind of feel like Doogie Houser right now....minus the super small computer screen with green font and the voice-over.

I was downloading songs to my nano and the song Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts came on from one of my play lists. If you have never heard this song it portrays the idea that it is your past relationships and the things you had to go through in those relationships that helped to lead you to the person you are supposed to be with... and lately every time I hear this song I think...ok I have traveled down a real bumpy road filled with too many pot-holes when do I get to finally find the right road. I do believe that some day I will and that the right broken road will finally lead me to the perfect man who will treat me like I should be treated. And when I say perfect man, I mean the perfect man for me.

I still struggle with having been engaged and going from planning a wedding to watching Bill move his stuff out of my house. I can still replay the day I found out that he cheated on me and that he didn't love me like he thought he did. That isn't how it is supposed to work out....how could he cheat on me four months after asking me to marry him...I don't understand and know I never will. I never pictured or thought my memory of getting engaged would end like it did. I imagined that it would be incredible and that I would tell my children about the time their father proposed to me...and I hate that I wasted that one special moment with a person that is so undeserving of me. I hate that I have been proposed to already in my life...the amazing moment...that instant where the world seems to stop....the excitement, the pure and utter happiness I felt....why did it have to end up being all for nothing and a lie

Dont get me wrong I dont wish I was back with him, I am thankful I figured him out and I know Bill was not the one for me....I know I would have never been truly happy nor would I have lived the life I was born to live if we would have gotten married...(not to mention our marriage would have probably ended in divorce since Bill doesn't seem to ever be happy enough with one woman. )

I guess I just hate being that person, that friend who was engaged but didnt end up getting married. I think sometimes I wonder why that had to happen to me...why did I to be the exception to all of my wonderful friends who have already found the love of their lives...

I suppose I have to look at the ending of my relationship with Bill as a saving grace, that a higher being was watching out for me so that I didnt make a momentous mistake. Regardless, Ill be honest, it still hurts a little....and finding that right broken road couldnt come fast enough.

I know that the right man is out there for me...and when I do get to that point where I have found him and when I am proposed to again, I know it will be amazing and it will erase all memory of the first time. It is just difficult to imagine that moment.

Here's to finding that broken road that leads me down the right path.

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." -Thoreau

Stanley Steemer

I took the weekend off from writing posts. I had a busy weekend but it was a great weekend. My parents came down for a visit and it is always so wonderful to see them. Another highlight of my weekend...I got my carpets cleaned. Thats right Stanley Steemer came to my house for my bi-annual carpet cleaning. I seriously love getting the carpets cleaned...I know I sound crazy..but really I love it.

Seriously...ever since I was little I enjoyed getting the carpets cleaned. I know some of you may not understand my love of cleaning and organizing....but I just love clean carpet! So maybe Im a little weird...but at least I am super clean!

I have no idea why I like it so much but I think it has something to do with everything getting so fresh and clean...especially now since it is spring and I can finally start to open my windows and do some spring cleaning. Also have one dog and two cats can reek havic on my carpet so Stanley Steemer gets all the dirty paw prints out of the carpet. I highly recommend Stanley Steemer to anyone who is interested in getting their carpets cleaned...and it wont hurt my feelings if you dont get as excited as I do.

Late Night Post

My post will be short tonight as I am super tired....I do want to reflect on 0the day....the weather was beautiful today but just like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west we can count on Indiana weather to go from 70 degrees and sunny one day to 40 degrees and cloudy the next.

I had a wonderful opportunity to spend my evening with two very sweet and adorable little girls. I watched Abby and Claire tonight and like always it was great to spend time with them. I was also able to re-teach myself to play Old Maid....I vaguely remembered the rules from playing the card game when I was little but with the help of Abby I now am a killer Old Maid player. Abby and I also played a couple games of Hi-Ho Cherry-O but I lost both times....really I lost.

It is still so amazing to me to see my friends as parents. I often feel like we are all still 16 years old and that we should be going to HS football games, talking about prom and cramming 7 girls into one car on our way to a movie. Wow how time flys.

Every time I see one of my friends with their children it just solidifies for me how much I love kids and have no doubt that some day I will be a Mom. And I can't wait.

Life is so unpredictable...Its funny sometimes how you have something planned out in your head and you think you know what your future is going to be and then in the blink of an eye it all changes. And that change can scare the hell out of you.

But you know what....I am thankful every day that the future I thought I would have took a quick turn off the planned road and onto Unknown Avenue....because I dont think the life I planned for would've been the right life for me. The life that would bring out the best in me and make me happy. So now I get the great and exciting opportunity to start fresh and new....and I am so excited to see where my life will go next and who I will meet.

"Only those who have the patience to do simple things will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily." -Unknown

Don't Quit...easier said then done sometimes

I found this quote a few months ago and thought it was rather motivational. During the past year, also known as Hell Year 2007, I have found myself wanting to quit and give up on several occasions for a multitude of reasons. But I realized that if I did quit I would be in an even worse position then I currently was...so pressing on, fighting through the doubts and issues made me realize that no matter what I am doing or where I am at in my life, that things wont always go my way but one thing is for sure...things will always work out for the best, the way they were intended to end up and truly there is nothing one can do to change fate.

And I see now that everything really does happen for a reason and even though most of the time you cant see that reason for a few weeks, months or even years...eventually you get it, you see it and then you are thankful.

Life wont always be a bowl of cherries and it is ok to feel defeated, discouraged, disappointed and frustrated..but I have now learned it is how you handle yourself in those situations that will help you get up that mountain. And having a loving caring family and supportive friends doesn't hurt either!

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, buy you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is weird with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:

Don't give up though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems far:
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."
-Author unknown