Communication Is the Only Way

Oofda!

Sometimes all the frustration, the anger, the excitment and anticipation of life all builds up and you don't even realize what it's doing to you as a person. It affects your most important relationships, your sleep, and your ability to relax.

A good talk (or debate as it may be) really goes a long way. Lots of tears and lots of hugs.

It's just what I needed. I think it's what my marriage needed, too. I just adore my husband.

In My Best Munchkin Voice..

DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD! Which old witch? The WICKED witch!

Got some very good news at work today. I can't divulge in this public form, but just ask me - I am happy to share!

Realizing Something In Me Has Changed...

This morning while walking the dog, we had a confrontation with two dogs who were off the leash followed behind by a very hostile dog owner.

To back up just a bit, we are in our third week of a leash aggression class with our dog, who has developed some issues in the past year with other dogs approaching him closely while on the leash. And it's only on the leash. We've been spending family time together every morning for 30 minutes, walking with Quinn and working on some of the exercises we've been given.

This morning as we were walking Quinn, it was still dark. A black lab who looked very much like Lucy, our neighbor's dog, approached us off the leash. There was no human in sight. Quinn got excited, but he hadn't shown signs of full aggression yet. I asked Chris to check the dog's tag to make sure it wasn't Lucy. Just then a setter came out of no where and ran up right into Quinn's face, and at this point he got defensive and lost it. Barking uncontrollably. I handed the leash to Chris and proceeded to try to command the other dogs to "go" and pointed away from my dog. In any direction we moved, these dogs would follow, and they were starting to fight back.

As this was going on the owner of the dog came following behind, out of the darkness. He began yelling at me. Insulting me. Being an all around jackass. Telling me that the dogs were feeding off of my energy and I needed to be calm and leave his dogs alone.

Well a few months ago, I probably would have slunk back, like always and went on my way. Today, something snapped in me. I fought back. I told him not to speak to me in the way he was. I told him that I had no control over my dog when his dogs were not leashed and I could not get away from them. I pointed out that he was a good 30 feet behind his dogs and in no position to control the situation.

Maybe it doesn't sound like much, but it was a good victory for me, personally. A little part of me wished that Chris would have spoken up, but I know he was trying to get Quinn under control, and I probably needed to speak for myself, alone. Interestingly, he almost had the dog calmed before the jackass guy started yelling at me.

I was pretty proud of myself for standing my ground today. I felt strong and proud.

TRUTHS

Foolishness is surely clarified with a good bottle of wine.

Life is tough.

Live hard. Love to the fullest.

That is all.

Confessions of an Insomniac

Work right now is absolute hell. I am NOT sleeping. I'm extremely burnt out. I'm dreading a drive to Evansville, IN on Monday - mostly because i'll be all alone, for a round trip in one day - for a quick photo shoot for work. 8 hours in the car (collectively) is not appealing.

You'd think that being an insomniac, i might go to the gym to work out, but honestly, my energy levels are so low, that i'm afraid to over exert myself.

The good news is that I think i've eaten well this week. I've made the effort to plan my meals (with the exception of ordering in a Chicken Gyro yesterday - YUM - but I ordered a greek salad with light feta instead of fries, and the chicken was all white meat). I haven't snacked at all, which is really good, so hopefully I can get back on track with my diet - because any new clothes I bought a couple months ago from losing 20 pounds are starting to get snug, and I can't stand it. I absolutely hate that i'm a stress eater.

Funny thing to me is that I hate exercising and i'm longing for an hour at the gym. Hopefully Sunday! Maybe even Monday before I hit the road!

I'll post more often once work settles down. And god, it HAS to soon!

I have a problem with saying "No"

I've been spreading myself too thin these days. Work is beyond busy, and I've been attending several photo shoots this week (and will be for the next few weeks). They sound like great fun, but they are some of the most exhausting parts of my job.

I am helping to organize a mentoring program for design students.

My house is a mess.

I'm helping plan my 10 year high-school reunion.

I'm also helping to organize and design our "Family Cookbook" that was the great idea of some of my aunts.

I'm helping Chris update his resume to look for some job opps.

And my in-laws will be in town this weekend, to boot.

Somebody shoot me. PLEASE.

Three Years

Three years ago today, I married my best friend, the love of my life. ]

Year three has been our hardest yet. We've both had very stressful times at work. We've done some big house projects. We've been through a very tough family crisis and the death of a loved one.

But we got through it with grace and I think we're stronger for it.

We've laughed and we've cried, and we've managed to let loose every chance we get.

Thank you, Chris, for another wonderful year of marriage! You are the most caring and giving person I could have ever asked for.