Our New Guy

We got a new dog! He is not an english bulldog like the dog that he tried to adopt a few months ago. We ended up getting a border collie. He is black and white and really sweet. It has taken him a few days to get comfortable but he is adapting very well. He has been a ton of fun and we are enjoying him. Plus, the good thing about him is that he is adaptable to our lifestyle. We can take him swimming in the river, camping, hiking, and out to the park. Another bonus is that when he gets older he can go running with me. I don't run outside at night because we live outside of town and so he will offer a little more comfort on those late runs. And when P goes out of town, or works late, he will provide me with an added feeling of security. Or, if we are gone all day, he can stay in the house and we don't have to leave the a/c on all day because he is able to stand the heat, where as our bull dog could not stay out longer than 20 minutes, he would not be able to go outdoors or do many of the things that P and I do. So even though I was sad when we gave him back to the shelter, I know that it was for the best. And, if we did not give him back we would not have gotten our new little guy, Tugg.

Post Party Glow

Last night was so much fun. All in all we had about 15 people here. The food was good, the weather was perfect, and the friends were divine. Last night I did not worry about washing the dishes or picking up the trash. I just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed my time with friends. We ate, talked, laughed, played games, and just enjoyed the evening. It is times like this that I am so thankful that I have people in my life who love me. That I have friends who want to come and spend time with me at my home. That I have friends who cherish each other more than they do their time in front of the television. I am so thankful because I know there are people who don't have that. There are people who are alone and in desperate need of friends, in need of someone to simply say hi, how are you today? They need to be acknowledged in some small way, and they don't have that.
Sitting in a post party happiness, the dishes in the sink, the trash that needs to be taken out, and the mess in the yard do not even disturb me.

In the Words of Cher

So like, right now for example, the Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, "What about the strain on our resources?" Well it's like when I had this garden party for my father's birthday, right? I put R.S.V.P. 'cause it was a sit-down dinner. But some people came that like did not R.S.V.P. I was like totally buggin'. I had to [get] to the kitchen, redistribute the food, and squish in extra place settings. But by the end of the day it was, like, the more the merrier. And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. Thank you very much.
Cher Horowitz, Clueless

That quote comes from one of my favorite movies of all time, Clueless. If you have not seen this 90's cult classic, I highly recommend checking it out soon. It is funny, biting, and offers some great one liners that have stuck in our vernacular.
Anywhooooo-- the reason that I am quoting Cher here is because I am having a dinner party on Wednesday. Originally, it was going to be myself and the 4 girls in my carpool, a little mid summer get together. Sounded fun and easy. Well one of the girls in the carpool emailed everyone, set the date, and the place--my house, and invited a few more people. Now rather than a quiet dinner for 5, it is going to be the 5, plus spouses, and 3 more friends. So--I am getting things ready for dinner this week. At first, I was a little annoyed that this girl invited and planned a party at my house before asking, but then I remembered what Cher said and thought "the more the merrier." So this weekend and early next week I will be cleaning the house from top to bottom, and I will be searching for the perfect dish to serve. We will be dining al fresco, so I was thinking a cold pasta with shrimp or chicken mixed in. Because of the extreme heat, I want to serve something cold and refreshing to our guests because it will be so hot outside, even at 7 pm. So ladies, if you have any suggestions about food I would appreciate the comments.
Another thing that is happening this week is that my mom is coming to town on Thursday with one of her friends for a little girls weekend. It should be a lot of fun.
I will keep yall posted about how it goes, and probably post some pics as well.
Wish me luck!

My Boss

I have less than 1 week left at my summer job as a house keeper! YEA! I am ready to be done. I have worked more than I thought I would and it is a little harder than I thought, and I have some thoughts about the job that I will post later. But for tonight I will share about my boss.
Frankly, I don't think she likes me, and I am a little perplexed by this. I have never, I repeat, never had a boss dislike me, ever. Ever. Every boss that I have ever had has loved me, and I have always had very good relationships with them. Not because I kiss up, but because of my work ethic. (I am not trying to toot my own horn here, or build myself up so please don't think that is my intent) From working in retail to teaching, all of my bosses have been pleased with my work. All of my performance reviews have been very positive and my bosses have praised my work ethic.
I am a very hard worker and I am motivated by 2 things. 1st the bible says "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men." Ephesians 6:7. While working I often think about this verse, especially when I am tempted to take short cuts, or when I don't want to preform a specific task. Secondly I think about if I were the boss, how would I want my employees to work for me, and that really motivates me to do things correctly.
As an employee, I rarely take days off. I get my work done early, and I don't miss deadlines. I am efficient. I will come in early and stay late. I don't complain. I work well as a team, and get along with others.
All of that being said, I feel like my boss does not like me. She tends to be harder on me than most of the other girls. She points out mistakes and blames me for things done wrong when we were working as a team. If I do something wrong or make a mistake I have no problem owning it, but when she comes down on me and says nothing to my partner, I have a problem with that. Plus, she nit-picks every day with me. I feel like I am always doing something wrong. It really got to me today, and I started to ask myself why she dislikes me? Did I do something wrong? Did I make a bad impression? Did I say something to offend her? I could think of nothing, expect the fact that P knows the owner and spoke to him, and he basically told her to hire me. I am not sure if that is the case, I am just speculating, but that is my best guess. I think she might not like the fact that she was told what to do rather than getting to make the decision for herself. Honestly, I just don't know.

Me, Myself, and I

Yesterday afternoon P and some of his friends went out on the lake to wake board, and I had the evening all by myself. I was in the mood to do a little baking, because its been a while, so I went to the library and found a vegan cook book and decided to give it a try. I came home, made a homemade pizza, put Frank on the radio, and began to bake. I made a vegan spice cake, vegan brownies with tofu, and vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. And you know what, they were not good. UHH. But that is ok. The spice cake is the best of the 3, it just does not have a ton of flavor, and I need to make some icing to go on it. The brownies, while very chewy, have 0 taste. P got home, picked up the brownies, took a bite, and had to spit it out. That's how bad they were! The cookies got tossed immediately because they were not even edible.
But, despite my set back as the next great vegan baker (Just kidding, I am not even sure there is such a thing) I had a really good time. I really enjoy baking and trying new things. So I am going back to the library to return the book and see what else I can find.
One more thing, my library now how this feature when you check out that tells you how much money you have saved by checking out books, and so far this year, I have saved more than $300.00 by checking out books rather than buying them. Sweet!

Frustration

I am going to get on my soap box, so get ready.
I am pretty frustrated these days when I see the way young women dress/talk/act.
I know this is not true for all girls and women, but I feel like there is a "dumbing down" of women in this country. I see girls who play dumb to get attention from guys. I see girls who dress in short shorts and tiny tops and allow men to make comments about their bodies. I see girls who's self esteem is completely defined by the males in their lives. It is so sad to me.
I don't think being dumb is cute. I don't think playing stupid is funny. The young girls and women are letting this world take hold of them it is ridiculous.
I think it is great when a woman shows how smart she is, or capable she can be. Yes we all have our "duh" moments where we say something silly or flaky, but to try and live your life like that is wrong. To try and pretend that you are not able to think for yourself, or the only tools you have in your arsenal are your body, looks, and hair, that is dumb.
These girls need to stand up for who they are and what they are. There is so much more to them than just the physical. It is basically the Paris Hilton effect, and it makes me sick.
What about women like Alice Paul, Elisabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sally Ride, or Nelli Ross. These should be the women who girls are looking up to. These women who fought against that glass ceiling. These women who worked relentlessly for women's suffrage and rights. These women who were strong, intelligent, and beautiful. Women who used their minds and created change. And those women who never made the paper, teachers, doctors, lawyers, professors, and public servants.
These are the women to look up to, not the Hollywood junk that is being pushed in our faces.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone. I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday. In the mix of parties, fireworks, and bbq's, I hope you take a chance to reflect on today and what it means.
I love America. I am passionate about being an American. I love my country because of the freedom she gives me and because of the opportunities afforded to me and my fellow countrymen. As a woman, I am not bound to any profession simply because of my sex. As an American, I am free to express myself in any way I choose. I am able to live my life in any way that I like, just as you can.
So tonight as I attend a back yard party, then lay in the park and watch the fire works, I will give thanks to God for allowing me to be born in this place. I will remember the soldiers who fought in wars past, and the one's who are fighting right now. I will remember the women who were alienated by their families and friends as they fought for suffrage for all. I will remember Dr. King as he fought for social justice. I will remember the women who worked in the factories while the men fought. I will remember our founding fathers who dared to defy their king and establish this great experiment. I will call my dad and thank him for fighting and for serving his country in Vietnam, a place far from his family and far from anything he had ever known.
As I watch those fireworks I will remember that these rights we take for granted are what makes our country great. I will remember that even though I have the freedom of speech, I need to use it wisely because words have power. I will remember that this country that so many people take for granted should be treasured and cherished. I will remember to thank a soldier the next time I see her.
I will say the pledge with pride and examine the words that I am saying rather than just repeat them blindly. I will take hold of the words in the Star Spangled Banner as I try to wrap my mind around what Key saw that night as he put pen to paper.
I love this country and I am thankful to be born here. God bless America.

Bright Lights Big City

I have been working a lot latley, more than I originally thought I would. As a treat, P booked a room for us in downtown Austin on Monday night and we had a blast. We got to town about 3 pm and walked around. We went to REI, Whole Foods, and Anthropologie. It was fun to shop and just be in the down town area.

I really like city life. The sounds, the lights, the people, the sights, there is so much to take in. I like that you can go from block to block and see so many different people from so many different walks of life. I like to watch street theater, or watch artist create beautiful pictures on their canvases. I like to see the clash of the wealthy and glamorous against the dirty city streets. I like to watch the women clad in Versace walk past garbage bins while they chat on their cell phones. The dichotomy of it all just astounds me. The mixture of beauty and glam vs. raw and dirty can hold my attention for hours.

We had an amazing view from our hotel room, and Monday night I just sat and stared out the window. The birds eye view is one of my favorite things. I sat and watched the cars and buses go by. I have been fascinated by city life ever since I was little. I used to have horrible nightmares and I was scared that something would happen to my family during the night. On those nights that I lay awake scared I would wish that my family lived in the big city because there were always lights on, people on the streets, and things going on downtown. I thought that if there were people up and about that no bad things could happen because it was just like during the day when everyone was awake, and I was not scared. So every since then I have had a thing for city life and a good view.
It was a great getaway and I am so thankful that P planned a small but fun time for us. He is awesome like that!