2008 was better than 2007, but not without it's ups and downs. 2009 is shaping up to be even better!

Friday is our 10th wedding anniversary. We will be spending a long weekend at NorthStar Cabin. It's a beautiful cabin out in the mountains near Asheville, NC. We've been there once before and loved it. I can't have picked a better person to spend the last 10 years with. We've really lucked out falling in love with each other! Other than small spats, we never ever fight. Even when we do spat, it's usually about nothing much and is over within 5 minutes anyway.

My job is still amazing. I can't believe I get to play with dogs for a living! My pack is steadily growing larger and larger. The place is doing good, we had 180ish dogs for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've only had to kick one dog out of daycare so far for being a knucklehead. Even though I've got a ton of puppies that wear me out, I really love them all.

I've been keeping the YouTube for Suite Paws active with new videos from daycare, so if you haven't checked it out you MUST! Just go to YouTube and search for Suite Paws.

I still upload pictures to my Flickr account as well, in fact, here are the pictures from our recent Christmas trip to Louisiana and Florida! Enjoy!





When we get back from the mountains, it's dieting time again!

One of my co-workers from Camp Canine lost her dog today. I'm very very upset and saddened by it.

Our new kennel - daycare facility has been open for 2 weeks now. We've slowly been building a client base and have gotten in some really sweet dogs both for boarding and daycare. The facility is almost finished, we are still working on the last minute touch ups. Life has been easier taking care of 10 dogs compared to the 40-50 I'd have at a time at Camp Canine. I think they will be limiting the daycare dogs to 20-30 or so, when we have the clientèle.

Those of you in the Raleigh area, look us up! Suite Paws Pet Resort and Spa We are located not far off of Business 64 at the New Hope Rd exit.

My time has been limited to working and gaming again, so I'll try and keep this habit up as well....



This weekend we are going to a huge event for our geocaching hobby. We will be meeting a ton of people from the area that do it as well. Maybe we can meet some new friends and not be hermits anymore. One can hope can't they?

143 Days, 21 Hours, 56 Minutes...

That's how long it's been since I've blogged. I know, it's a long long time!

I've been hesitant to start it up again, I don't know why. I sort of ran out of things to say I guess. That and I really don't think anyone reads this....

To sum up this past 5 months:

• I've quit my job at Camp. My boss was driving me insane. We had a heartfelt talk where I brought my concerns out in the open, but in the end I made the decision I needed to make for ME and my previously non-existent anxiety. I've documented my time at Camp with pictures at my Flickr Account
  
• I'm starting my new job at Suite Paws (www.suitepaws.com) on Thursday. I'll be working full time doggie daycare, M-F reasonable hours for my life. It is right around the corner from my house so less driving for me. It's a brand new place that I get to help make a success from the ground up. Plus I get to do daycare and be with the dogs all the time!
  
• I've been to Alaska for 1.5 weeks with my family. I've decided that it speaks to my inner soul and I long for a time in my life when I can live there with my pack of dogs to keep me company. To check out my pictures from it, visit: Steph's Flickr Account
  
• This 2nd year since having a LapBand has yielded me a loss of 20 pounds bringing my total near 60. It's a LOT slower than I'd anticipated, but I'm also not dieting at all and eating what I want, so I'm asking for it. But, I've gone down 4 clothing sizes and I had to buy new winter clothes for my Alaska trip, so I'm not complaining. I'm only 1 size away from being able to never shop in a plus size store again! It's my goal for the summer of 2009.
  
• 2008 has been a year for the babies, a ton of my friends have either HAD babies or will be having them soon. Only 1 on this list is below 30 years of age: Chelsea, Bernadette, Samantha, Val (Eric's Wife), Crystal and last but definitely NOT least my best girlfriend Kendra. Visit Kendra's blog to the left to see some great pictures!!
• 2008 has been a bad year socially. We are very hermit-y this year and borderline recluses once again. With no pottery studio to keep me entertained and no close friends here anymore, I spend most of my time computer gaming with my husband. I loved my time in Alaska with my family and really, really, REALLY can't wait to go home to LA for Christmas and see my best friends Tera and Wendy, and their respective husbands.
  
• Chris and I have taken up a new hobby called GEOCACHING and I highly recommend to anyone here that is "techy and geeky" to take it up. Especially if you are looking for a way to get out of the house and get some exercise. We have found so many new and unique places around Raleigh thanks to this hobby. Basically, there are this little boxes and hidden stashes of "stuff" hidden all over the world. If you are into gaming, think of them as "loot bags." It can be anything from just an autograph book, to a stash of computer parts or a CD/movie collection. The only way you can find them, is to take your GPS device (the kind you navigate in a car with) and go to a certain point determined by the website and LOOK. Sometimes they are hidden very well so that people who aren't geocachers can't find them. You can see our profile over at the website by click on this link. We've found 83 caches currently and are still very new at it.
  

Well I think that's about it. I'll try to be better about updating this but once I start working sometimes that can be impossible!

A friend of mine shared a picture with me of a new ad campaign for Beyonce's (Destiny's Child singer) clothing line, House of Dereon. It's launched a new children's line and this is the honest to god ad they put in VIBE magazine this month.



Just when exactly did kids start wearing this crap. I know the symbolism is meant to be them dressing up from "Mom's" closet, but seriously.... I'm not holier than thou OR a prude, but this just seems.... wrong. It seems like a pedophiles dream. Look at the little asian girl's face. It's kind of slutty and uncalled for.

No wonder people are complaining that kid's are growing up too fast these days. What kind of world is this!?

If I had chirren, I would NOT dress them like this, just FYI!

I'm still around, just an incredibly busy person with little time to piddle on the computer anymore. Whatever spare time I have is normally taken up with my husband and puzzles and relaxing.

My life is very different from when I started this blog. I'm more accomplished as a human being. I have purpose and learn new things every day. My personality is very different as well and I'm learning to deal with that and accept this change. I took a personality test online that was actually really nice and not like those cheesy 8 question test that give you some bullshit answer. Here is my result:

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

Now, in my life I've been similar to this but more along the artsy and fun loving sort. I'm more serious and more of a thinker now than I've ever been.

As for whats going on with me, life is so-so. I'm back into that hermit-y lifestyle since all our friends moved away and it's depressing me some. We also haven't been gaming with friends in guilds recently so I don't have an active online social network either. It is probably a good part of why I'm feeling I'm changed because I know that there are some depressing issues going on.

Work on the other hand has actually lightened my mood recently. I had a couple weeks of roughness with them, where I felt I was being singled out for being a horrible worker, but that has passed. I have to be honest and say openly that I think some of my paranoia was in my head. I had felt very anxious and unstable for a while and reevaluated some of the medicine I was on, turns out my Singulair had anxiety and depression listed as a fricking SIDE EFFECT! I stopped it 3 weeks ago and have been feeling more uplifted ever since.

My medical life is about the same. I'm still dealing with the PCOS and infertility. My weight has been stable for some time and I can't seem to loose it, but my diet is to blame with that as well. I've not been trying as much as I should. I have been able to lose a pants size though. 1 more size and I'll be able to wear normal sizes, which is my goal for my cruise in September.... Maybe I should diet and reach that goal so I don't feel like a failure!!! But I'm still happy I've gone from busting through a size 24 to a very comfortable 18.

Heading out to buy a new printer and then off to work. See you in a couple of months when I have a few minutes to write!!

I have a friend that recently posted a blog on myspace, let me paraphrase what it said for you:


Seriously, she posted it in almost those exact words.

So, it got me thinking.... (scary, I know). Think about the news in the past 20 years alone, how many things have been predicted that they recommend we should be preparing for? Here let me try to make a list:

• bubonic plague
• super flu
• bird flu
• global warming
• asteroids
• robots evolving
• nuclear war
• world war 3
• alien invasion
• planetary breakdown/alignment
• anti-Christ
• aids pandemic
• mega tsunami
• earthquakes
• killer bees
• super volcanoes

Gosh, that's the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. That alone, if taken seriously and to heart is enough to keep a normal person up at night pondering the future.

But how do we respond to it? Do we go as far as to build the underground bunkers and stock piles that the alarmists call for (HELLO Y2K)? Do we live with them on our minds constantly driven crazy by the anxiety? Do we warn others at the risk of sounding completely ridiculous?

I can tell you how I respond to it. I do absolutely nothing.

I have no doubt that one day in time we will be hit by a massive decrease in our population, however that happens. It does seem inevitable, with the technology advancements and growth of population. Will it happen in our lifetime? No freaking clue. Why should I live my life in constant fear of something no one can predict? We can make all the preparations we want, but if the earth decides to shut down and kill us off, all that worrying would have been in vain!

So, I take it for what it's worth: good television. It's engaging and intriguing and fun to watch. But, Lordy.... don't get your blood pressure up over it and spend all your money on food stores that will expire in 5 years.

9 years ago, I married my best friend. I've never regretted it for one day and it gets better and better. Even through the hellish year I've had and the many lash-outs I've handed to him and everyone around me, he loves me regardless and ends each day with snuggling and back rubs trying to make my stress level better. I really could not have custom made a better husband and I'm very thankful for him.

We will be celebrating tonight at Melting Pot. I can't wait!

I know I don't blog much anymore. My life is too busy now for it.  Besides the car stress, life is great. We are still carpooling and dealing with life in a big city with 1 car. I can't wait to buy my new Fit, I'm counting down to an unknown day where I can go out and get it.

Time to get unskanky!

Yes, I'm alive. Barely at times, but alive nonetheless.

This car crap has been stressing the HELL out of me and putting me to the edge of my sanity level. My car is totaled and we are dealing with the process of getting it all taken care of before being able to purchase a new car. Let's just say that everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong, chalk it up to my horrible year I'm having.

2007 has been the shittiest year of my life and I'm hoping that 2008 is better, if it gets worse, you may see me in a nut-house before it's over with as my fragile little mind can't take much more.

All I can say good about this year is that I found the best job ever and I really love it. I've found my calling at Camp Canine.

I've been stuck at the same number range on the scale for a while and even battled a small gain of 5 pounds. The new year will see to me returning to the dreaded diet since I've not technically "dieted" since my lap band surgery. I guess my body has decided that it's not losing more than 50 pounds without my help, lol.

So, yeah, have a great holiday season and I'll see you all in the new year....

Yesterday was an eventful day for me. I got into a bad accident thanks to slippery roads and a sucky car that doesn't handle at ALL. I had to stop fast and ended up fishtailing and hitting the center concrete divider on the interstate. My car may be totalled.

MATRIX BEFORE:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b206/Lerasi/matrix5.jpg

MATRIX AFTER:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b206/Lerasi/car11.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b206/Lerasi/car2.jpg
And this struck me as funny....


So, yeah.... It's pretty bad. Guy at tow yard guesses they won't total it since it's almost brand new with 15k miles on it. It's going to be a HUGE repair bill though and is going to most definitely kill any resale value if they decide to repair vs total. Right now, it's a big toss up and I'm just waiting to hear from the insurance.

Everyone's first question was: Are you okay, did you get hurt? The answer is:  I'm fine, thank God for seat belts and air bags. Today when I woke up my neck hurts a little with soreness, nothing more than the "crick in neck" feeling. My shoulders and chest muscles are achy, but it's nothing a little Aleve won't take care of. Yesterday I felt nothing.

So, yeah, anyone want to send a Kharma coach my way or have a medium come and get to heebee-jeebees blessed OUT of my house?