365 Days In Film

I saw this competition that CNN was holing for an iReport that challenged readers to summarize their year in 30 seconds for a chance to be featured online. I thought it was a really cool idea and wanted to take a crack at it. So I watched a few of the videos and most were baby, wedding or travel related and I got intimidated.

I thought, I've done a lot in a year and just becuase I didn't have a baby, get married or travel the world I want to share mine. Then time went by I got busy and before I knew it I had about 1 day to complete my video. So I gave up and made a quick slideshow with music to show some of the highlights of my year.

It's nothing fancy, I didn't even use an editing program. I did it all online for free while watching TV so don't get to excited about the technology of it all. But if you are interested, feel free to watch my life on film in about 90 seconds.

2009 was a good year and here's to another one in 2010! Until next year!


365 Days - Slideshow Maker

Getting Fit For Christmas

My goodness, what a crazy whirlwind the past few days were. I think I ate, drank and laughed my way through Christmas this year. Santa was good to me and our families and I'm ready to get back on track and start the New Year off right!

I opened my computer this morning to a late Christmas digital card from an old friend Andy that cracked me up This is the second one I believe they have done and it's pretty funny this year. The music is original from Scott, who also is a friend, and a fun way to bring Christmas spirit.

This is it for Christmas and the video seems fitting as it's almost the New Year and time to get fit for a lot of people!

Best Commercials of the Decade

Yes, there is a trend that has occurred in the past few blogs recapping 2009 and the decade - it's the end of the year folks, what do you expect? Every media site, social networking site or any site for that matter always has it's Top 10 of something around this time of year.

Being in media I really like the countdowns on trends, commercials, TV shows, etc. and I come across them often as I read these sites and articles. I just came across one for Top 10 commercials of the decade the other day. A link to the article is below, I'm not so sure I believe all of them and a few are missing (I mean who doesn't love the Budweiser ads)? But I thought it would be fun to check them out and get prepared for the best commercials to appear this upcoming SuperBowl where the Bengals will be winning!

Top 10 Commercials of the Decade

Have a Merry Christmas!

P.S if you go to the Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs game this week make sure to honk your horn at 11:15 in honor of Chris Henry, read more here. RIP slim

A Christmas Miracle

Whew, back in the Nati and it feels good- Christmas is only a few days away. We had an awesome time in Colorado - more to come on that later.

As I logged in this morning an article popped up on my AIM that had a dog standing upright so immediately I clicked. The article is very touching and truly a Christmas miracle for a dog named Faith and the peoples lives that she touches.

You can check out the video below to view the dog walking and click here for the full article but a brief recap is below.

Faith was born on December 22, just days shy of being a true Christmas miracle, with 3 legs and 1 of which was badly deformed. After being with her owner a few months they had to remove the badly deformed leg, leaving the dog with only two hind legs. After many peanut butter treats and encouragement, Faith's owner taught her how to walk on her hind two legs (it's amazing the things a dog will do for peanut butter, trust me)!

Now Faith has fully adapted to her lifestyle and Faith and her owner travel the country visiting army vets and hospitals to give hope to those who may be suffering from lost limbs or other disabilities. It's just amazing how animals can touch our lives and this dog is helping inspire and motivate others in ways that humans may not be able to.

Recapping A College Night

So this past week has been extremely busy, with work, the Holidays, parties, Chili, shopping and much more. I’m sure everyone is in the same boat as me. Additionally, Jim and I are getting ready to head to Colorado for some fun tomorrow! We are planning to go hang out with friends, ski and just relax a little after his big promotion and our hectic schedules – I’m pretty excited.

I am ready to get away, relax and have a weekend without a holiday party to host or attend. Today, I came across this funny video that mocks “I Gotta A Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas and spins it into a hangover/what happened video/song. I gotta admit I used to have a lot of nights like this in college, but the older I get the less of them I have. Well who are we kidding, I probably still have one a month but it usually results in a lot of false promises like “I’m never drinking again.”

No matter if we have all had a night like this guy I bet everyone can relate to the lost cell, drunken fight with a lover and that there is nothing better than a McD’s diet coke and salty fries the morning after drinking. McD's diet coke and salty fries is almost like an instant cure. If you drank a Hoist the night before then by adding on the greasy food it is definitely a cure (had to get that plug in here,)

Anyway, enjoy taking a step back into college life for a minute and watch this video.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

A Little Christmas Surprise!

#1 in the AFC North and #1 in your hearts! They don't give us the embed feature so I've just provided the link!

http://bit.ly/8wNz2Y

Got to watch it all the way through, check out Abdul Hodge's voice! And Dhani Jones is so hot, hot, hot I could watch this over and over.

Who-Dey!

I Be Pumping My Fist

It’s been released, the Top 10 most watched shows of the decade. I’m going to have to say I agree with some of them, but others I could do without.

Friends is the number 1 most watched show of the decade and I’m going to have to say I agree. I grew up in the Friends era. Long before TiVo’s and Internet TV where we actually made sure to be in front of the TV for that beloved half hour and didn’t even get up to go to the restroom. I think it's still a common word in a lot of salons - I'll take the “Rachel Cut” - whether her short bob or her longer layered look. I don’t know about you, but I still can’t resist a good jam session to “I’ll Be There For You”.

Right up there with Friends in my book is Frasier. I was a kid when Cheers ended but I used to watch it over ice cream with a snuggled up Beagle at my feet with my Dad. So when Frasier spun off I had to watch it. Surprisingly, I liked it and watched it all the way to the end, following the longest love story ever told. I will also give them Spin City, even thought I never watched it I appreciate the triumph that Michael J Fox had over Parkinson’s and worked to lead a regular life before disclosing his disease to the rest of the world.

I’ll accept Survivor as it’s still running, American Idol even though I can’t stand it, ER cause it was the first in the over dramatic hospital shows that now paint our screens weekly and I used to watch it, Grey’s Anatomy because it’s the new ER, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire cause I tuned in to see someone win a million dollars, and Everybody Loves Raymond cause my Mom liked it.

But, I can’t believe Joe Millionaire made the Top 10 List! WHAT? A show about a man who was supposed to have a lot of money and woman swooned over him only to discover it was a big lie! It just makes women look so bad. Not all of us are money hungry plastic bimbos looking for a husband to take care of us. It just made woman look awful and it was no surprise the relationship didn’t last, just like the show.

So, I’m ok with the list. At first I thought Seinfeld was missing, but then discovered it ended in 1998 falling just short of the decade drop off. I can’t wait to see the list 10 years from now – it will be packed with reality TV and junkie TV that I like to watch. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jon and Kate Plus 8 is on that list- boo!

All I know is that the trashiest most ridiculous show out there right now is Jersey Shore on MTV but I tell you what, I’m watching it and I be pumping my fist everywhere I go!

Does He Exist- The Lizard Man?

This could quite possibly be the blog that you read and are like,WTF, I knew you were weird but now I’m just concerned you are on drugs. I’ve had this debate a few times in the past years but yesterday I got talking about this in the office and my curiosity got the best of me and I had to do some digging. So here it goes, the story, the research and my conclusion.

As a kid we always traveled to Kiawah Island every summer for two weeks. We would go to Charleston, hang on the beach, golf, alligator hunt, crab, fish and hang out as a family. This was long before Kiawah became popular and is now a hot spot and full of hotels. I can remember one summer we were there and there was all this talk about the “Lizard Man.” People were told to watch out for this monster because he has been known to eat license plates and small dogs and scare locals and tourist alike. As kids, we were really scared of this and convinced ourselves he existed and even went out and got the T-Shirts to prove it to our friends back home.

So, of course yesterday over lunch I begin to share this story and my belief in this monster and everyone was puzzled. They had never heard of this monster. They were convinced I was thinking of “The Swamp Thing” but I knew it wasn't the Swamp Thing but something else, I can remember seeing it on Unsolved Mysteries. Which I’d like to make a note about here – if this is your strongest point in your argument at the time you discuss it you need to do more research. This just made me seem crazier than before when I began to discuss the red eyed car eating lizard that stalked us this summer as a kid. But, I knew it was for real and I hadn’t made this up so I had to do some research.

First research, calling my brother. Who when I immediately asked him about that summer his response was, “yeah, I forget the name of it but I once watched an episode on it on MonsterQuest- it scratched peoples cars and left bite marks that left people baffled!” Now folks, you may think I’m exaggerating his response and he didn’t say the word MonsterQuest or baffled but it’s true- both of them, and yes he is 29. He then went on to add how we both bought T-Shirts and were scared driving at night down the deserted roads from Charleston to Kiawah. (Again, this was before the Ryder Cup was played there and Kiawah became a hot spot)

Bingo, this first lifeline or research contact lead me to my next place to look – MonsterQuest. At first I didn’t find anything other the the Swamp Thing footage until I noticed a file that said “MonsterQuest Cold Case – The Lizard Man” and BAM, I found his name and some footage. Click here to check out some monsters on the show (you will have to search Lizard Man to find the videos I reference).

Then of course, Paul, told me nothing is real unless it’s on WikiPedia and now that I have the name of this monster I look it up and BAM, here it is! Exactly as I had described: The Lizard Man is described as being 7 feet tall, bipedal and well built, with green scaly skin and glowing red eyes. It is said to have three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand which end in a circular pad on them that stick to walls. The creature has an incredible degree of strength, more than capable of ripping into a car. – EXACTLY as I described in my discussions.

Well, then wouldn’t you know it I see a link at the bottom of the Wikipedia explanation to a CNN Video! WHAT? I thought my Unsolved Mysteries was a good argument but the fact that my monster has made CNN? Check out the video here! I have slowly built a case that this is a real thing, the T-Shirt I bought did exist, that monsters may be out there, that the Lizard Man did eat license plates, stalked people that summer in South Carolina and I am not just a crazy lady who believed in a story I was told as a little girl.

So what all began in 1988, when I was 7, as a car getting mauled and 10 eye witnesses claiming they saw this monster has developed 20 years later to another car mauling with blood left behind. Unfortunately the blood was contaminated and could not be identified to a certain species, but that may tell us something. I’m not saying I believe or don’t believe in this monster, but it’s somewhat been haunting my life since a little kid. All I'm saying is even if I tell you a crazy wild weird story and I swear it is true, believe me, because I will find the proof that I'm not crazy and it may exist. And, if you are driving through South Carolina and you have the expensive license plates, vanity plates, you may want to rethink your way - just sayin!

What a great long weekend! It was so nice to have time off and spend time with friends and family. Our Thanksgiving meal couldn’t have gone any better, the food was amazing and I was not stressed at all. Everyone kept asking how come I wasn’t so worried about the meal – I don’t know why, I didn’t really think twice about it. Probably because I had my itinerary all planned out and everything went perfect!

Something funny did happen that day. For Jim’s birthday, which is tomorrow, I have been trying to get him a ping pong table. Now you may ask what on earth does a 33 year old man want a ping pong table for? I asked that too. So did about every store I went into. Everyone was convinced that I just needed ping pong balls, no paddles. I can’t tell you how many times I got asked “Really, you are going to play actual ping pong?” Geez folks, not all of us are booze hound Beirut or beer pong players 100% of our time, I mean a good sober game of competitive ping pong is a lot of fun and quite the workout.

Anyway, every place I looked the tables were close to $300 or higher. I mean, I love Jim but it didn’t seem worth it to me at the time . So I perused Craig’s list and Wala – I found a used ping pong table for $50. So I went out, picked it up and brought it home. Only to discover it was too big for the basement. I was very sad. But stored it in the garage and thought, oh well- it’s only a summer game. That was until I was at Target doing some shopping and saw a table on sale for $99 and it came in 4 pieces, meaning it would fit in the basement. It was like a sign from God. I asked the lady where they were and she told me they were sold out. She said to let her check other stores, so she did and wouldn’t you know it that moment a table had just arrived off the truck in the back.

So I walked out of Target so happy and proud of myself and with a table. A table that even fit into my little car and I carried into the garage all by myself. Wow, I totally just gave you the whole story instead of the funny moment on Turkey Day. So anyway, as I’m slaving away in the kitchen and not letting Jim get near (well he really didn’t want to) he decided he was going to clean the front porch and rake a few leaves that have fallen since our last big rake. I think nothing of it and just say “ok”. After about 20 seconds of minding my own biz in the kitchen I realize that the tables (tables cause now we have 2 ping pong tables) are in the garage he is about to open. I fling open the back door right as I see him standing there with the garage door opening and his puzzled face at the giant box in front of him.

"Hey!" I scream, wait wait. But at this point it is too late. I of course can’t run outside cause I’m in cooking clothes and no shoes and in my hand is a mixer full of potato remnants so scream for him to come back in. He refuses until he checks out the box only to discover he has ruined his birthday surprise. So I go to the basement, get out the gift bag full of paddles and tons of balls (I was persuaded to buy a lot more balls from the store guy for “adult games” – and no not the dirty kind). By the time I come back upstairs he is excited and I give him the gift and say Happy Birthday. He’s so excited that he immediately wants to take it to the basement. So I take a break and lug the 100 pound table to the basement.

It was a great surprise but doesn’t end well. We go to put the table together on Saturday and it was missing parts, uneven and just a disaster. We spent about 5 hours trying to put it together and finally gave up. Took it apart and returned it for our money back. It was totally destroyed by the time we returned it but we taped it up and didn’t care. I was so annoyed we bought a defunct product I didn’t even care it wasn’t ethical. I immediately wrote a bad review of the product and am back in the market for a ping pong table that comes in four pieces. Alright all you ping pong table makers reading my blog- send me a free sample!

Turkey Day

I can't believe Thanksgiving is already here! Like where has the time gone? I guess being so busy at work and traveling that all of a sudden it's here!

Well, Jim and I are having our first Thanksgiving at the house this year so it's pretty exciting but also a little stressful. I've cooked a turkey once in college and it turned out well, but that was college and it also went with a ton of beer and partying!

We are having 8 people over, all Jim's family. I plan to run the Turkey Day Trot and eat breakfast at the Price's all at the same time as starting the prep work! Then, after the meal at our place we head off to my family party around 6 or so (well I head off and Jim will probably join later in the evening just in time for charades with my family)!

I love Thanksgiving - the food, family and talk about Christmas. I imagine this year will be really crazy so I've gone ahead and made an itinerary for myself. So here you have it! The tricky part is we only have 1 oven and I believe in making things from scratch- so I really had to time things out just right for a 3PM arrival and 4PM meal. And oh yeah, I plan to run the Turkey Trot so I don't feel guilty piling the food on my plate. I figure I will run 6 miles in the AM so I can eat some extra calories!

Wednesday

• Set Table


• Make Cranberry Sauce
  

Thursday

• 8AM Turkey Prep & Put in Oven (Tent so no need to baste for 2 hours)


• 8:30AM Turkey Trot


• 9:30AM Breakfast at Price's


• 11AM Turkey Check and remove tent, begin basting


• 11:30AM Make Spinach Dip and cool


• 12 PM Sweet Potato Prep


• 12PM Mashed Potato Prep


• 1:30 PM Stuffing Prep


• 1:30 PM Green Bean Casserole


• 2:30 PM Turkey Check and let sit


• 2:30 PM Put in Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole


• 2:30 Make Gravy


• 3:30 warm items in over for meal at 4PM

Gobble Gobble! May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I Hairdly Recognized You

Wow, that title is sooo cheesy but amazing all at the same time.

I came across this video in my YouTube subscriptions and almost fell out of my chair laughing . It’s not so much the video but the crowds reactions that got me.

First of all, I also want to know who went to this event? Why on earth would you go to see this? I guess that’s why the crowds reactions are so hilarious and enthusiastic a the freelance beard. Listen closely, the best is the man screaming like a little girl “It opened, it opened”!

On a side note. I’m off to Tampa tomorrow morning for work and then Austin, TX for family time with Jim’s family and some college football. So, if you can stand it, you will have to go all weekend without me!

Who-Dey!

First thing I saw this morning, a Tweet from my boyfriend that the Cincinnati Bengals are on the cover of USA Today! Who-Dey!

The past weekend the Bengals beat the Steelers to put themselves in the lead for the AFC North! We are in a great position as we beat the Steelers and the Ravens on the road and at home, bringing us to 5-0 for the division! I smell the playoffs in in our near future and a hint of a Cuban sandwich.

All I have to say is Who-Dey Baby!

My New Goal

So the other day I was at Urban Iron just pumping it and jamming to the remixes, little secret I LOVE remixes! So we get to the dreaded shoulder track. For some reason, I just hate shoulders and never increase my weight. I think I'm pretty strong and could totally lift a car off someone if the situation presented itself but I realized I suck at push ups!

If you remember my previous blog about the San Diego boot camp I did with the ex marine then you know that when pushed I was able to accomplish a lot of push-ups but almost vomited. Well that night I went home and remember that I met a woman while in San Diego who had accomplished the hundred push-up challenge and was amazed. She didn't look like her head was shrunk cause her shoulders were so big and her arms were buff but not too buff like Madonna's. And right then and there on the spot I told myself I was going to do it.

I went to download the iphone app and then elected to do it online as it was free! So there you have it, my new goal. I also recruited two co-workers to join in with me so we encourage and push each other to do it. It requires 3 days a week for six weeks following their program to achieve this goal. So I plan to start on Monday.

I can barely do 20 in a row so am excited to see how it goes. I am going to try to do them on my toes, but will probably need to do some on my knees. According to the website it doesn't matter how you do them just that you are building strength and over time achieving your goal. So you might see some post in here about my journey and the day that I do the 100 push-up test I'm having Paul film it!

So there you have it, my new goal. It's nothing big and crazy but I think if I can do this I will feel so great about myself and want to keep achieving more and more goals. This first tiny goal will lead to others. Happy Friday!

Really This Could Make You Fat

Obviously I check out a lot of food blogs and read up on nutritional information as it goes hand in hand with my job. Recently, I came across a a slide show on DailyBeast that was titled :Food That Can Kill You Instantly. It might have been the grossest slide show ever. It was clearly inspired from the website, thisiswhyyourfat.com.

The slide show was pretty gross and I could barely look at some of the food. Clearly people make ridiculous foods for the website just to make sure they get featured, but some of them are for real (check out my previous post on the Heart Attack Grill).

Alright I'm going to admit it here - I don't always eat the healthiest (GASP)! But I work out a ton to eat what I want. I actually chose to feature the McNuggetini from the slide because it sounds delicious! I mean who doesn't like chocolate milkshakes and McNuggets with a little bit of sauce and vodka? I would eat that up! Then probably vomit right after.

In all seriousness, I've started to try to make restaurant version food the healthy way and I'm loving it. I have been pulling the recipes from SparkRecipes and we are currently running a contest so lots have been entered, check them out here. I tried the Crunchy Supreme (knock off of Taco Bell's) for dinner last night and Jim and I both loved it.

If only I could knock off the Chipotle recipe - it just never taste the same:(

Hungover?

Ugh, like the worst thing ever. I wake up or am going back to bed saying "I'm never going to drink again!" Well my lovely boyfriend Jim and three of his friends have created a drink Hoist that makes the process go away faster. There is actually no cure for a hangover or quick fix, but Hoist will help you get better faster.

Live in Cincinnati, follow the Hoist Mino around town to see where it goes next. Check out this article the local paper did on these budding entrepreneurs!

Booooooo

Are you scared, you shouldn't be, you're on Scare Tactics! Is there anyone else out there that absolutely loves this show? The most famous Scare Tactic is Rat Boy, which a friend scares his friend into thinking a lab has creatures. Check out this clip of it, go to 1:58 for the start of the good scare but the whole video is funny!

Halloween came and went but that doesn't mean that you still can't scare people year round. It's one of my favorite things to do. Do any of you watch Ellen? She loves to scare people too, check out this clip of her scaring innocent bathroom goers. Click through her website for some even funnier scares she does to her celebrity guest.

An all time favorite of mine is to scare people. I haven't gotten a good scare recently, well not true. The other night I hid in our closet while Jim showered, when he came to the closet I jumped out and he jump and shook- I just cracked up.

I need to get some good ones going, but a few of my all time favorites I've done have been done to Jodie or my brother. I will briefly explain them below as I chuckle to myself.

Jodie

• I once unscrewed all the light bulbs in our apartment and hid around the corner with a mask on. It was night so when she came in no lights were working...as she crept towards the living room out I jumped as she fell to the floor.

• All time best one was I hid in her closet. It was so jammed packed with stuff I barely fit but there was just enough room for me to get in. When Jodie got home she assumed I wasn't there and went about her business. She was laying on her bed talking on the phone and I started gently scratching at the door. I realized she noticed it when she mentioned something to the person on the phone. So I kept doing it, louder and louder hoping she would get up. Eventually she did, as she was about to open the closet door i jumped out and screamed "Are you scared?" she literally fell back onto her bed feet kicking and screaming as I almost peed my pants!

Brad

• When we were really young I once hid under his bed while he was in the shower. When he got into bed and turned out the lights I reached up and grabbed his leg from underneath- classic scare move!

• About two summers ago in Florida we were all out cast fishing in the surf. The fish were biting and the sharks were out. I acted like I hooked a monster fish and it was dragging me to sea, he came chasing after me screaming "Let go of the pole, let go of the pole". He was so scared but cute to know he cared.

I mean I could keep going and going with all the pranks that I have pulled. Whether a fake fall, scaring someone, fake celebrity sighting or whatever it is I love to prank and scare people. It's just fun and totally who I am. I get a kick out of scaring people and making them laugh.

Beauty Comes From Within

Yeah, yeah, yeah our Mom's have said it to each of us more than one time in our lives. Whether we were crying over a breakup, a zit on prom night or the fact that we couldn't fit into our jeans from last summer. It's a hard thing to realize when splattered on every billboard, magazine ad or TV show is a size 0 skinny blonde supermodel our boyfriends, brothers, Uncles and Dad's all adore.

However, the over edited and airbrushed models aren't real and probably lead an unhappy life. I mean imagine if you couldn't go out and eat a greasy cheeseburger after a night out just cause you wanted to. And you probably couldn't event have that night out you need after a tough week becuase alcohol has too many calories. No thanks! Plus, the majority of them are so airbrushed it's ridiculous, have you seen the stars without their makeup?

It's October and Breast Cancer Awareness month. There are so many strong woman out there who have gone through so much and still enjoying and going on with their life it's amazing. I came across the article below that just seemed to put things into perspective. Warning, it's about a 26 year old woman and her struggle to have/want sex with her boyfriend after cancer. It's brutally honest, funny and incredibly touching. http://bit.ly/1277MK

Whirlwind Weekend

Wow, the past week has been such a blur! Coming off the flu and heading to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for Morgan and Mindi's wedding! However, let's focus on the Mexico trip as the flu and cold stuff is soooo behind me.

So, we left on Wednesday, October 21st at the butt crack of dawn. We had a nice journey down there except the part where we had to land and sit in Guadalajara to wait out the rain. Hurricane Rick caused quite a bit of rain on Wednesday and we had to wait out the storm to land. But once we did, party time!

Wednesday night we had a great dinner with everyone who was there. There was about 10 of us and we ate, drank and laughed ourselves silly. They have this fabulous desert drink called Mexican Coffee (or sexy coffee). It involves lighting tequila on fire and pouring it back and forth so it's a big flame and then lighting your cup on fire and serving you coffee. It actually tasted like hot chocolate but the presentation is worth it. After dinner we enjoyed some late night cocktails and off to bed.

Thursday we hung out at the swim up bar, the beach and Jim and I went on a zip line/canopy tour in the jungle. It was so much fun. We zip lined over the river, through the jungle and saw a lot of cool stuff. We were about 700 feet up zip lining across miles of the jungle. The guides were amazing and so funny, we had a really good time. Afterwards we got to hold monkeys which was awesome but we also got to hold a giant boa constrictor...well we = me cause Jim was afraid of it.

That evening we went into town for the rehearsal dinner at a local tapas restaurant that overlooked the city. It was a cool restaurant and view but the food was so so. Then a few of us checked out the local scene downtown and headed back to the hotel. Since the hotel was all inclusive it was hard to justify spending more money on drinks out on the town. We ended up hanging out for awhile and retreating to our room early that night.

Oh yeah, our room was so nice. We had our own private balcony that overlooked the sea. Our bed was positioned just so when you laid in it the window could be open and you could hear the waves and see the ocean. It was just amazing. The bathroom was great and the shower was all glass and tile, I just love tropical showers. We would spend a lot of time just laying in bed and relaxing and enjoying the view with an ice cold cerveza.

Friday came and it was just a beautiful day! We spent all day swimming in the ocean and relaxing leading up to the wedding. It was the most amazing sunset ever when they got married (see pic to left), you couldn't have asked for anything better. The ceremony was amazing and they were both so happy. We continued the party well into the night with lots of dancing, tequila and laughter. Our server Rosalio just loved to keep bringing us tequila so that lead to a pretty fun night.

Saturday Jim and I took a snorkeling adventure that was so fun. We cruised out to our snorkeling spot and spent about an hour or so checking out the fish and swimming through caves. We then continued to our lunch location, which was a local beach nestled up against the jungle. The boat ride was amazing. Our friends Sarah and Jake also did a boat cruise and ended up getting engaged on theirs! Woo Hoo- her ring is amazing and we were so happy for them!

We headed back for our last dinner with the group at the resort. We enjoyed a fine Italian dinner complete with wine, sexy coffee and great food! It was a perfect dinner to end a fabulous trip! Jim and I were so exhausted from all the partying, food and drinking that we hit the bed early. We had an early flight back to the states and just wanted to hang out and enjoy our last night together.

So we got back on Sunday and were exhausted. We really really missed Chili so it was so great to see her at our house when we got home! We watched the second half of the Bengals ass whooping against the Bears and were asleep by about 10PM!

All in all it was an amazing trip and I am so glad Morgan and Mindi invited us to be a part of it. It was a nice break from Cincinnati and also cleared up my allergies getting out of the city- thank the Lord!

I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to attend their wedding and spend time in Mexico with some of my best friends. These are the things that make life happy and great:)

Been in Flu Hiding

Ugh is all I have to say about the past week or so. Everywhere you go and every channel you turn on you hear about THE FLU! I am a naturally healthy person and usually don't get sick, but I got hit by the bug.

Starting about last Tuesday or so, I got what seemed to be my normal allergies. The typical Cincinnati stuffy nose, watery eyes and sinus headaches that feel like an elephant is sitting on your forehead. But I also got this nagging cough that I never got in the past with allergies.

It started as a dry cough, the best way to describe how it felt was to imagine someone putting a blow dryer down your throat on high heat and leaving it run for hours. I couldn't stop coughing or drink enough water and I can't even think about putting one more cough drop in my mouth without throwing up. Sometimes, it would get so bad I would cough until I cried and was gasping for air- it wasn't pretty.

After about 2 days of this my Doctor finally told me to come in. So I went in on Thursday and he diagnosed me with allergies. Gave me some steroids and Singular to try to clear it up. He told me to try the nasal spray first and see what happens.

So, home I went. Come Friday,still not feeling better. Even more congested than before. I could still barely breath and was still coughing every 30 seconds. I would take DayQuil, NyQuil and try to gete through the hours but it never was easy. 4AM coughing are normal, I think Jim wants to kill me:(

Well, I think that Dr. appointment gave me the Flu. I woke up Saturday morning so sick, the kind of sick you never wish upon anyone. At one point, Jim said are you going to be ok, I've never seen anyone throw up as much as you have. To be even grosser, I have no idea what I was throwing up cause I wasn't eating and it was really chunky - ewww- TMI.

I immediately called my Doc, who gave me TAMIFLU and said to take it easy. So a full day of this and coughing to boot. My head hurt so bad and my body just aches, my chest is so sore from all the coughing I can't take it anymore.

Well I woke up Sunday and the Flu symptoms had disappeared, thank the lord! But I still had my cough. So now I'm going on a little over a week and I have all these same symptoms I started with and even caught the Fly in there somewhere. I'm started the Singular which seems to have slowed my cough down a bit!

I am set to go to Mexico for a wedding tomorrow and am hoping the hot weather gets rid of whatever I have caught. It has been awful and I am really sick of sitting at my house and not seeing people, but better that than risk getting anyone else sick.

Oh yeah, the worst part is I can't see my Mom because she had surgery that required a lot of cutting and moving around of organs that if she got sick or had any chance of getting an infection would be very bad for the stitches. So, when you want your Mom the most I can't even see her.

So, today I have one last look over from the Dr. and hopefully i get approved to go to Mexico! If I don't I might just cry for real, especially since I didn't get trip insurance:( Sorry for the lack in blogging but I've been so sick I literally got my work done and than would lay in front of a TV with rags on my head until I finally fell asleep.

Hopefully you don't hear from me cause I"m off to Mexico! Arriba Arriba!

Monster Mash

I know, these are so cheesy but they crack me up! I've been promising a funny good post for Paul and he's been stalking me for days about it- so here it goes!

The Monster Mash video card....Happy Halloweenie!

As mentioned, it features Paul as the vampire for obvious reasons (you know, the guy who sneaks around at night and sucks people's blood), Jodie as the main evil doc because she's sneaky and seem all sweet on the outside but has an evil side, Jim as the wear wolf man because of the chest hair hanging out of his shirt, Rob as Frankenstein because I already had a Rob head made and then me:)

If you like dumb humor and crack up at things like this enjoy...really enjoy Jim's ROAR at the end!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Social Media Is What I Want - Yeah, Yeah

Ok ok do I sound like a broken record? It's everywhere-every brand, advertiser, marketer is screaming it - SOCIAL MEDIA! If you are asking yourself right now, what is it? Then you better step out of 1990 and into 2009.

A friend of mine passed me along the video below detailing some interesting facts about social media and is it a fad? Is it going to die and newspapers, TV and traditional media will be back in the spotlight? I'm sure this has been the topic at many agencies and companie, but in my opinion, no, it's only just begun.

The video below goes through some of the interesting facts on social media and how quickly it is spreading. Actually, since I first saw this video a week ago I went to the blog where it was originally posted, socialnomics.com, only to discover a newer version is available. That's just the thing about social media, it's happening fast and at a rate we can barely keep up with. At some point it will max out- right?

Probably not. It will just get deeper and deeper with more options, more ways to connect, and even scarier ways for advertisers to get to the right target. Of all the facts in the video, I thought the following were interesting or somewhat funny.

• Social media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web. WHAT? I find this shocking for 1 reason: I've never watched porn on the Internet (unless you count checking out "One Night in Paris" - come on, I'm a celebrity junkie you think I wouldn't check it out?)

• If you haven't heard, Facebook is sweeping the nation. It's mentioned on CNN, MSNBC, my favorite TV show HIMYM, The Hills, 60 Minutes, etc. It's EVERYWHERE!!! Even more interesting that QZONE (only click if you read Chinese) in China is larger than Facebook!

• Most interesting fact 200,000,000 blogs and you found mine :) Don't you feel extra special?
  

So with all this buzz about social media it's got to be doing something right? Well of course or else their wouldn't be any buzz. According to the video, 78% of users accept a peers recommendation. I happen to work for a company where I know word of mouth (WOM) goes far, with more than 50% of our members coming from WOM.

For example, are you not from Cincinnati? Do you know who Chad "OchoCinco" Johnson is? Have you heard about his Twitter account? Well unless you live in a cave you have. He's the most talked about sports celebrity and he's letting the world get to know him via Twitter. It's gone so far to get the attention of the NFL Commissioner. Come on folks, I couldn't name a wide receiver on every football team but I bet people could name a Bengals wide receiver if forced to. And I bet some baby boomers and older folks found out about Twitter thanks to him.

I like social media. I like Facebook, I like blogging, I like reading blogs, I like having everything I want at my fingertips with my iPhone. Social media is what I want and with over 96% of generation Y using it you better hop to it folks!

Crazy and Under the Weather

As you can tell from the lack of post, since last Friday things have been crazy. I pretty much have been go go go and very little rest rest rest, which basically made me sick and feel like this all week!

However, since last Friday a lot has happened. We had our Cincinnati SparkPeople Convention and it was a success. The day was jam packed with lots of good stuff and our members loved it. We did a fun photo shoot for it after the event for a SoapBoxMedia Story - see the picture to the right. I am cracking up at the fact that Grant is trying to do the splits like Stepfanie but not quite cutting it! Yes, Paul is also in this photo - can you guess which one?

Then on Sunday I went to the Bengals game- which was awesome!! The Bengals beat the Steelers and hopefully is the start of our season! Who-Dey

This week has just been a blur since I haven't felt well. Pretty much get up, go to work, come home, sleep do it all over again and now all of a sudden it is Friday. I had a pretty boring week and nothing fun to add!

Tonight is the launch party for Jim's Cincinnati drink, Hoist! I will give a fun good update on the launch party next week - I am really looking forward to it as long as I feel ok :) For more on Hoist - check them out or follow them on Twitter or Facebook or just follow the Hoist Camino!

To feel like you got something out of this blog, check out the best YouTube clips of all time - supposedly (I think some are missing).

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

It's Cincinnati Gossip Girl here and I've spotted Jenny working for the weekend at the hottest health Convention in the tri-state.

Check me out here!

In all serious, the SparkPeople "Spark Your Life" Cincinnati Convention is this upcoming weekend and I've been working my hiney off to get all the details finazlzed. My co-worker, Beth, and I have been slaving away at this event for months. It's going to be a great day and I'm ready to get the show on the road.

Oh yeah, shout out to Paul who helped us go prop shopping for all sorts of fun toys for the event!

Find our more about the Convention here!

It's A Jungle Out There

It's Friday night and the manhunt is on! It's tough being a single lady sometimes cause you just never know which Prince to choose. I think I chose a good one, but after seeing the video below I'm not sure.

Who could deny the Casnova looking for a Goddess or the man who's claim to fame is he's been a subscriber of Playboy for 25 years? All I know, is that it's a jungle out there and somebody better snatch up these hotties before I keep them all to myself!



Dating Montage
by smithy00101

You Know You Need to Workout When...

You can hide and illegal weapon in your fat rolls! Check out this article here.

Plus, that photo of him is very deceiving. I can't tell if he's man or woman.

Tough To Be A Bengals Fan

Bengals season kicked off this week and I had high hopes that it might be a season worth watching! Having my first season ticket to myself I was pretty excited. Hard Knocks showed a team that is working hard and wants to win. So I went into the season opener against Denver pretty pumped.

The crowd and excitement at the game was pretty dull, to say the least. The whole game was pretty boring except the last 5 minutes. Where I had a feeling that the season could be great and then it was stripped away from me in the last 20 seconds.

The Bengal scored, to take the lead 7-6 with only 30 seconds remaining. After a time dispute, more time was put on the clock. This lead to the worst and most shocking loss I have ever seen. After a tipped pass and the ball floated up in the air a few seconds, a Denver received caught the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. Leading to a 12-7 loss for the Bengals.

It was dead silent in the stadium. I watched as hope was wiped off people's faces and another season of losing looks to be ahead of us. It's hard being a Bengals fan the past few years and I think Mike Brown needs to get out! He has no reason to be involved in selecting players and if he isn't willing to spend money then he's going to continue to see a losing team.

I still have a little bit of hope we can turn it around, but if we don't beat Green Bay it's lights out for the season. With the Steelers the next home game we better turn it up. If we don't win Green Bay and Steeleres I see the rest of the games not being sell outs which means no TV time for Bengals. Which hopefully hurts Mike Brown's pockets and he wakes the F up. All I have to say to Mike Brown is "Child Please!"

*please note, I took about 3 minutes writing this blog becuase I am still annoyed at the loss and don't want to devote anymore time talking about. Turn it around Bengals!

Oh To Be 21 Again

I spent Labor Day Weekend in Gigglemoor with Jim’s sister Mary Jesse and 9 of her friends! I knew we were in for a lot of partying and fun and the weekend didn’t let us down. In addition to going down to spend time with Jesse and her friends, it was also going to be Chili’s first plane ride, time at the lake, boat ride and swimming lesson at the lake- so we had a big weekend ahead of us.

The weekend was a lot of fun even though the weather didn’t really cooperate with us. MJ’s friends were great, it just reminds me how crazy living a college lifestyle is and how quickly it all changes in just a few years. You go from carefree and up late drinking and eating whatever you want to early mornings, bad hangovers and not even considering buying the glazed donuts for breakfast.

They invented this game they called CICATA that might have been the worst idea ever. Basically, you put a bottle of liquor in front of everyone and you try to spell CICATA and then you take a shot and everyone yells CICATA. It keeps going and going until the bottle runs out or someone loses their dinner. It is the worst game ever and I don’t ever suggest playing it unless you want someone to end up in the hospital eventually- but college is about figuring these things out right?

While the weekend consisted of lots of partying and good times I was really excited to spend some time with Jim and Chili at the lake. This was a big weekend for Chili – she had her first plane ride with Jim, boat ride, first lake experience, weekend sleeping out of her crate, first jet ski ride, first time outside not leashed and her first experience with the shore. I think just hearing all these things she had in store wore her out.

However, she couldn’t have been any better! She was so so on the plane ride, I think the levels might have given her some gas…and believe me folks, being trapped in a small space with a dog fart is no fun! But she absolutely loved the freedom. She ran around the yard, snuggled with Lucy and didn’t get too far out of our sights. This was a big win for Chili because we honestly didn’t know what to expect…for all we knew she might run off and never come back. But she stayed close to our side most of the time and came instantly when called.

Next big step, boat ride! She was a little hesitant of the boat at first. It took a lot of persuasion to get her on it. But once she was on it, smooth sailing. Check out the video clip of her below soaking up the wind. She loved running around the boat and just taking it all in. Her little nose up and Queen of the Sail. She was a little confused by the booze cruise we took at night, I think the loud music and dancing wasn’t her scene, and she also wondered why Mom was booty popping like they do on the Animal Planet when she’s home alone.

She still hadn’t jumped in the lake, so we were a little worried she isn’t a water dog. But Jim and I decided to take her on a jet ski and let her walk in on a sandy shore. So off we rode, she loved the jet ski even more than the boat! We ran it on shore and the next thing you knew, after a little bit of persuasion, she was jumping through the water and swimming after sticks like her mentor Lucy. She loved it….we played chase, fetch, swim back and forth between Jim and me and then hung out for a little. It was a cold jet ski ride back since she was wet, but that didn’t bother her much at all.

All this playing made her really tired. So night time and sleepy time was the best for her. She sacked up in her favorite blue chair and was out. She would even go in without me in there, which never happens at home. Then the next day we took her out on the boat, and she jumped off the back in the middle of the lake! At first Jim thought he’d have to save her, but she swam right back to the boat. I think she was just cooling off. So we took a plane ride home and she snoozed the night away.

It was a great weekend! Mj’s friends were great, it was a great end to the summer and Chili time was amazing. I really love my little puppy and as much work as she is I can’t imagine life without her. We did give her one bad habit though, we let her on the bed in Gigglemoor and now she thinks she can do it at home!

Where Did Summer Go

Holy Cow, it's September 1? Where on earth did this summer go? I feel like just yesterday I was excited that the trees were blooming, the grass was green and a summer of swimming, boat drinks, concerts and fun was ahead of me. Now it's school zones, yellow buses, cool nights and the dreadful fear that highs in the 40s are approaching.

I mean, it was less than a month ago I was at the Jimmy Buffet concert here in Cincinnati. I think that's what it is, the concert was way too late in the summer this year and I feel like it just jump started my summer.

Usually Jimmy Buffet plays in June or even early July, but this year it wasn't until August. I mean, a Buffet concert at any time of the year is great, but here in Cincinnati it's a movement. Millions of parrot heads flock down to Riverbend to wear hula skirts, bikinis, drink margaritas and forget that their is life outside of Margaritaville.

If you're not a fan of Buffet you just don't get. You are confused why middle aged men wear grass skirts, woman wear coconut bras and peeing in the lawn is acceptable. But if you are a fan, you know that drinking at 7A, taking shots with your fellow lot mates, wearing nothing more than a parrot head speedo and much more is nothing out of the ordinary.

As a 28 year old, I'm not necessarily in the main Buffet target. The majority of his fans are middle aged party goers who in their prime, were pretty much as awesome as me!! JK. But there are a lot of Buffet fans. A lot of people ask why I'm a Buffet Fan, so few reasons below:

1. I grew up listening to Buffet and it reminds me of beach days and dancing as a child.
2. Buffet LOVES Cincinnati. Not only is "Fins" about Cincinnati but the whole Parrotheads actually started here in Cincinnati when he performed at Kings Island.
3. His music makes me crave an ice cold beer and boat drink and automatically brings me to warm weather, even if it's the middle of February.
4. He's a pilot and leads a lifestyle I would want to live.
5. He's done so well not only as a musician, but a business man creating Margaritaville, LandShark and much more!

I can definitely say it's the highlight of my summer going to Buffet and each year I look forward to it. Someday I will make a show of his in a tropical island and be in heaven!

Anyway, to my original point I"m not ready for Fall or Winter. I feel like I woke up and when "Dude, where's my summer gone?"

The Secret Word!!!

One of my favorite shows to watch as a kid was Pee Wee's Playhouse. I can remember every Saturday morning at 10AM sitting down to watch it. You may be wondering what sort of crazy thoughts am I having today that made me want to blog about Pee Wee's Playhouse- right?

Well, it's not that I was dreaming of going to a dirty movie , but my friend, Paul, reminded me today that it's fun to just be a kid sometimes. So we started talking about Penny from Pee Wee's Playhouse. She was my all time favorite character on the show! She resembles me in ways, other than the pennies for eyes (Duh!) But her whole deal was talking about cute random things and just rambling on and on about them. Like a little kid does or like how I tell stories and blurt out totally random things. See her clip here telling us how to make toast. So darn cute!

Then there was Chairry, the talking blue recliner. I LOVED her too! She was so cute and just loved to snuggle up Pee Wee when he sat in her. I mean, who wouldn't want a chair that snuggled you and kept you warm and safe? I would spend a lot of money for a chair that did that and occasionally would give me life lessons. I wonder what Chairry did if Pee Wee farted on her?

Then there was the toilet looking chair that sat next to Chairry, I guess his name was Dog Chair. He played no real big part other than to give me nightmares and be afraid to use the potty in the dark as a kid.

Other than Penny, who didn't love Conky. He dispensed the best part about the show, THE SECRET WORD!!! The word of the day that whenever it was said everyone went crazy and I even went crazy at home. They were words like, bang, keyboard, bird, etc. I think we should implement that into our everyday lives. Be like, every time someone says the work ship today I'm going to get really really excited. Try it, see if people are freaked out by you.

So when you get overwhelmed thikg about being a kid. Pee Wee's Playhouse reminds me of those fun Saturday mornings eating cereal in front of the TV and looking forward to playing in the neighborhood with my friends. Nothing got my day started off better than the opening credits to Pee Wee Herman!

The Good Old Pocket Dial

Hello, butt is that you? We all know this commercial that we chuckled about but totally have gotten this phone call before. I have and a lot of times.

Nothing is worse than checking out your call log and being like, WHAT, I called them at 3:30 AM Saturday night? No, this isn't a drunk dial to an ex or booty call, but the drunk dial that your butt made to your co-worker of brother that probably consisted or a lot of fuzzy noises and giggling.

I always get these from Jim's sister MJ - she is notorious for the butt dial. She blames it on having me in her favorites, which is nice, but they usually come at odd hours during the week (College kids!) I tend to butt dial my brother a lot, so I guess it might have something to do with the favorites, but MJ's butt dials are always extremely interesting.

Just to give you a few: Once time she was traveling in a car full of girls, they were talking about what kind of meat they like to eat, ya know, steak, pot roast, etc. get your mind outta the gutter folks! The other time she was walking into a movie with her sister Molly, they were going to a chick flick so it was a lot of, OMG, No way, OTH (please check texting blog).

This blog is totally random but I was just thinking about it because I got pocket dialed last night!

Our Future Is In Their Hands!

Sure, as a kid our parents used to say to us...our future is in your hands. Basically, once we were old enough to make a difference and view the world how we wanted, the rest of the world would follow. It's history right? Things change and people adapt and usually the younger generation is leading the cause!

Well, this 10 year old boy who lives in Orlando, FL is keeping up with technology (thanks to some help from parents I'm sure) and started his own video blog. It has random things on it, like how to make pickles, him singing, him being a kid but it's the video below that caught my attention online.

For all you Internet geeks out there that spend time surfing the web and love sites that share totally random facts about the Internet, like urlesque.com, then you may know about the "Code Monkey". Basically, this guy Jonathan Coulton, wrote and developed this YouTube song/video about being a "Code Monkey" in the Internet world (Paul, my stalker, this is you).

I love this video for several reason, but will give you my top 3 below:

1. It's funny since the kid probably isn't able to view more than 50% of Internet videos and blogs due to his age
2. I am very intrigued that he painted on a work shirt with a pocket protector but then painted his face like a cat - his 10 year old imagination is taking over thinking a cat could wear a pocket protector (duh, we all know that only dogs can do this since they are smart and not creepy)
3. The song is kind of addicting.

So, enjoy the video and have fun thinking that as we get older kids like this are going to rule the world.

Obessed, I Think So?

I just saw this and cracked up!!! It's totally me right now, but that's because my whole life is my dog!

So, Chili has been cleared by the vet and has gotten her Rabies and other vaccinations to interact with the real world. She's gone to dog parties and even swimming at the Gilday's pool parties on Sunday!

But, poor little Chili couldn't be on any other medications because of the pneumonia that she got a case of tapeworms :( It's like one thing after another for the little pup! But we've got her on medication and started her flea treatments so she's on her way to perfection!

Tonight is her first obedience class so hopefully soon enough she'll be the perfect little pup. But honestly, she is so good without the obedience I can't complain. She's sweet, doesn't potty in the house, usually only chews her toys but sometimes still gets snippy so we have to nip that in the butt ASAP (no pun intended).

It's Excercise RIght?

I had a pretty uneventful past few days, so was not quite sure what I was going to blog about today. It was either more about Chili, more about Chili or more about Chili since that's my whole life the past week and with Jim gone it was even worse.

But then, low and behold I had an idea! While doing a little work project for Paul, I started thinking about all things that are exercising that I never even consider. Sure, running, biking, hiking, elliptical, walking are the first things that come to mind, but then I started thinking about all the other things I do that are exercises too! I do soccer, volleyball, swimming, softball, tennis and a lot more!

But there are others things out there that you don't even consider to be exercises? Well, since this project was for Paul I couldn't take it all serious. So I thought of all the other things I've done in my life that are exercises, WDYT, would you consider the following exercises?

Moon Bounce, Beer Drinking, Thumb Wrestling, Dodgeball, Mud Races or Hanky Panky?

OMG LOL

Ok, I saw this thanks to a Twitter link and was cracking up at this. The whole texting language and emoticons just crack me up...but I'm not going to deny I use them quite often.

Sometimes as a joke, like when I first heard about Michael Jackson's death I got blasted with about 40 text messages, but I also sent out the following text message when I heard it on the radio "OMG, MJ is RIP! and peeps got it! And all night long it was a joke because everyone wanted to be the first to break the news, so every time we heard it it went something like this " OMG, No Way, :( SBT"

My favorite use of text language is the NTB, who thanks to my friend Fagel (now likes to be called Emily) this is a commonly used term amongst our friends.

I also must say I sometimes abuse the emoticons, even admit to changing them around every once in awhile. But nothing is better than a bouncing kiss from your lover or an angry red screen from your friend right?

I still have to agree that I like the AOL emoticons the best. Sure, the Wee Mees react to funny words like vomit, jump, bad and do things like vomit, jump and spit...but they can never compare to that good old happy smiley face that comes across the screen.

Oh yeah, if you don't know what the text language is above figure it out like parents do here. And if you want to see how text messages and emoticons can go horribly wrong check that out here.

Until next time.

TTYL

Duel Personalities

So, with all this sad dog talk I thought I'd switch it up and post a lighthearted blog. I wouldn't have thought to post about this funny conversation, if it wasn't for Paul who is obsessed with my blog and it's all he ever thinks about.

So today at work we got talking today about dogs and how you can totally tell a lot about the dog owner by the personality of the dog. I'm sure you've heard of this, right? Like, somehow magically the dog owner and the dog share a bunch of tendencies.

It's totally true, think about every person you know that has owned a dog for awhile and then think about the personalities of each of them. I'll give you some examples. Take Paris Hilton and Tinkerbell, or Jessica Simpson and Daisy, Perez Hilton and Teddy - the list could go on and on. So, I began to think about people I know and what their dogs would be like...I mean we did this for hours so I just wanted to name few. After reading this blog, immediately waste some time thinking about the people you know.

I decided that Jim's dog, if he had his own and didn't share one with me, would be the dog that likes to seclude himself from others and is always getting into the liquor cabinet and is absolutely appalled by rolling in the dirt. Paul's dog would be the dog who is always trying to clown around for everyone and make them laugh, you could also find these dog running the streets alone late at night looking into every one's window. Annie's dog would be the one who's sweet in front of all the owners, but as soon as it is just the dogs and no humans, is the biggest trouble maker. Finally, Emily's dog would be the one who tries to sell you drugs and later cuts you with a switchblade.

Again, I could do on forever but I do find it to be a very interesting fact and very true. PS, if you don't know Emily and you meet her on the streets run the other way.

Chili Update

Hurray for Chili!! We had our vet appointment this morning and the vet said she seems to be improving!!! YAY!!

Well I think she is improving because last night I saw the first glimpse of her puppy life coming out. When we adopted her she was very calm and sweet and didn't want to do anything wrong. Well, last night that all changed! She was jumping around the house, barking, chewing and not listening to a thing her mom was telling her!

I took her for a long walk, out on the hour every hour to "go potty" and she still took a poop in the house. To make matters worse she has had diarrhea and did it on the carpet! I caught her in the act and yelled "NO!" which immediately prompted her to run through the poop, around the house, on the ivory couch and lay down. It was a mess to clean up and I was annoyed!

But that's all part of being a puppy and I'm so glad she is going to be ok so today we are beginning to crate train and do all the stuff we felt bad doing to her when she was sick. We still have one more appointment on Friday for X-Rays but the sun is shining and Chili was soaking it up!

Pray for Chili

So, I just got back from the vet and it is not good news. Chili has almost little to no room in her lungs due to all the fluid. The vet thinks her chance of survival is 50/50. We are giving her an extremely aggressive amount of antibiotics and praying for the best.

We have until Wednesday AM, when she will get her next X-Rays and see how she is progressing. If she has not improved or the situation has worsened we will have to put her down. I really pray and hope that she turns around!

Right now I'm pissed off at the SPCA for sending home such a sick dog with a loving family. Adopting a shelter dog saves lives and families willing to do so should not be adopting and falling in love with a sick dog. Not only have we invested a thousand dollars in this dog, we have our hearts invested. To have to put her down would be extremely difficult.

To make matters worse, when we adopted the dog the woman working the counter was rude and pardon my french a bitch! The only compensation financially and emotionally they give you is, return the dog and exchange it. Like it's a piece of clothing.

I'm just really upset and pissed off right now and really hope she makes it! Pray for her in the next 24 hours and hopefully a few months from now we are writing happy Chili stories!

Our New Girl

We finally got a dog!!! After many debates and votes we landed on the name "Chili"! We like this name for several reasons: We live in Cincinnati and Chili is a big deal (we are the "Chili Capitol of America", she is brown and as soon as we said the name her ears perked up and we both agreed on the two syllable word and think this is unique to Cincinnati dogs:)

I am sure I will write a ton of blogs about her as time goes on, but I'm going to tell the story about how we got her first.

So, we had gone to several websites and a few shelters looking for a great dog to adopt. We finally ended up at the SPCA and had lots of dogs to choose from. Jim really fell in love with this beagle, but he was unavailable and already had someone interested in providing him a good home. So we kept testing out dogs, some were too wild, too shaggy, mean and then their was Chili. She was cute, playful and pretty calm. It was a big scary decision, but we took the leap and adopted her.

So home she came but as the night went on she started to develop a pretty bad cough! We kept her through the night Saturday but it got much worse come Sunday morning and she was beginning to leak mucus out her nose. Being that it is a Sunday, we had to make an emergency visit to the Pet ER.

I originally went alone, thinking it was not going to be a big deal and we'd get meds and be on our way. Well, I was sorely mistaken. The vet encouraged me to get X-Rays and test for pneumonia and worms. She warned me it was pricey, but I felt it was worth the investment.

Sure enough, the poor little girl has severe pneumonia. Her lungs a completely filled with fluid and that is why she is hacking up mucus and having trouble breathing. The vet also encouraged us to test for Parvo, cause with both her chances of survival are small and would most likely need to be put down (yes, I immediately was crying and called Jim and made him come up)! Luckily, she did not have Parvo and we developed a treatment plan.

We walked out of the ER with a $500 pet bill for a dog we had less than 24 hours. I am taking her to the vet today to figure out our next steps and hopefully get her back to normal. I am so excited to see her grow and what her personality is like. Right now, I think she's acting a little different than normal due to the infection.

She is just too cute and I hope we make good parents!