This and That

Well, after 8 long days of single dog-parenting, Mike is home! He got back from France late last night and one little lady stole all the attention!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

This little girl was making 100% sure that she got enough space to spread out her long legs and snuggle up with her Papa. In other words... leave us alone, Mama.  I found myself teetering on the edge of the mattress with my side wedged in between the space where the mattress pad ends and the mattress continues slightly. Add the occasional large paw-to-face smack by a dreaming dog and you've got one rough night's sleep.  Alas, we're both glad the Papa is home and looking forward to hearing all about France later today.  Until that time, I'll put $ on finding them in this exact position when I get home (at 4pm!).

Lately I've found myself having so many fleeting ideas about blogging. I'll think of something that strikes me funny and make a mental note, supposedly, and then I sit down at my computer and poooof... it's gone.  Sigh.

Right now I have a running stream of consciousness that I need to unload. Ready?  Here goes... in bullet format:

• Lately I'm really into brewing my coffee at home with the new Starbucks Blonde Veranda and then making one to-go cup and filling my awesome thermos from EMS with another cup.  Can you believe this thermos keeps my coffee warm, sometimes, until later that night. EMS rocks.
• I'm so over hearing all of the negative campaign mumbo-jumbo on the news and NPR every day.  If we could put half as much energy into working together, we'd be back on top as the world's super power.  This morning I actually heard someone likening Obama to Hitler and Stalin. Seriously!?!?  Statements like that are unbelievable to me and I think they are tearing us further apart rather than rallying anyone around any time of change.
• I picked 6 ticks off of my dog in one day this week.  After that, I make her walk on the sidewalk because ticks freak me out.  Poor Darcy.
• I have a strong desire lately to organize things in buckets and bins.  I actually spent a few minutes last night sitting on the kitchen floor fantasizing about what type of organizer I could buy at IKEA for our Tupperware/baggies/foil/saran wrap in the cabinet.
• I cleaned the refrigerator out... it felt good. 
• A lot of times when I'm shopping, say at Target, or TJ Max, or wherever, I see so many things I want to buy and send to my friends. Things that either remind me of them or might be something they've mentioned liking or needing. Friends- I do wish I could send you all of the things I imaginarily purchse for you when I'm shopping.
• I'm getting a new cell phone... yep. It's time. I'm thinking Samsung Galaxy... what are you thoughts/reviews?  I'm not an i-anything kind of person, so iPhone is o-u-t.  I even talked sweet Susie Q (that's my Mama) into getting a new fancy phone too.
• I need to get the Farmer's Market back in my life.
• I'm going back on Paleo as close to 100% as I can while still having my weekly cupcake from Taste and See. 

Ok. That was satisfying.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Much love,
Whitney

Taking matters into my own hands

Happy Spring (again!),

I keep waiting for the official 60+ weather to stay around but it's like a teasing, taunting trick with it's coming and going the last few weeks.  I'm over jacket season and ready for sun dresses, people.

Last weekend, in an effort to fully take advantage of Good Friday and the Easter weekend, Mike and I took Darcy the wonder pup up the the Appalachian Trail in NW Connecticut for a day of hiking and playtime.  She loved it, and despite my worries, Mike let Darcy off the leash and she did fine... until the horses came. And then she did NOT do fine. She went ballistic and tried to go after a horse, which thankfully was very well trained and did not rear up nor throw it's rider. Whew! I was sweatin' that one out.  But none of that is why I'm writing.

Following the hike and near dog-on-horse bar fight, Mike and I treated ourselves to some food and drinks at the GW Tavern http://www.gwtavern.com/. Yes, all of our adventures now revolve around the singular historical thing we can do while we're there- wherever there is. Sigh. I don't *heart* history that much.

Still not the reason for my story though.  Upon doing a quick change and tick check in the truck, in the GW Tavern parking lot, I noticed something. Something bad. Something unexpected and previously unseen.  It snuck up on me out of nowhere. I was blindsided...

A HUGE patch of grey hair had sprouted on my head overnight without me knowing. (Yes, I believe it was overnight because otherwise I could have handled it sooner).  How had this happened? Maybe while gardening I accidentally ingested some of the miracle grow myself, causing rapid growth of grey hair patches... you know, like flower patches or cabbage patches?

On the way home from the trip I made Mike take me to Target so that I could take matters into my own hands. *Disclaimer to all of my stylist friends... I'm sorry for what you're about to read*  I bought John Frieda box hair color and I immediately went home to color my own hair.  There it is. I said it.  I box colored my own hair a nice shade of brown and if I'm honest, I really like it.  And, it's kind of fun being a brunette and mixing it up with colors I don't usually wear with my lighter colored hair. 

So that's it!  That's my story. And I don't feel bad about it... at least for now since my hair is still OK and attached to my head. I will issue a full apology to said stylist friends if my hair meets with disaster in the near future. I promise.

Happy Wednesday, peoples.

xo,
whit

Nice little Saturday planned...

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time." (Old School, 2003)
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I feel like I've been lost in a land of uncreative thinking the last few weeks. I haven't had much time to blog or do anything for me.  But, that's-a-changing this weekend, friends! 

Now that the CrossFit Opens are finished, I can start back to weekends of relaxation and fun.  It's not that the games weren't fun, but they were also nerve wracking and I put a lot of pressure on myself. 


Credit: Aaron Poach Photography, LLC (or something like that)


I even won myself a foot injury which I'm now nursing and dealing with.  Sigh.  That's not what this post is about, though.

This weekend, namely tomorrow, is going to be awesome!  And, when we wake up and start the day, I'm hoping Mike will still want to do these things...

Kicking if off with the 9am WOD at www.crossfitnewhaven.com with my gym homies



Then... home to grab Mike and Darcy the wonder pup for.... drumrollllll.....

The PEZ Visitor's Center (I know it's dorky, but I really want to see them making the Pez's and learn more about this hidden CT gem whose candies I love)  www.pez.com/visit_us or http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9058886.htm for some awesome pics

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9058886.htm

Then....  it's Westport for some Lululemon, dog walking, and

Shake Shack www.shakeshack.com for some good old fashioned burgers and fries.  And, the best part is that they actually have a dog menu, here, so that the little Goat Dog can get some grub too. Look at the bottom for the pup treats. 

Photo: Paul Schott / Westport News

And then, I'm going to be it will be nap time.  And then, then, if all goes well, a pajama-jammy-jam in New Haven with some wonderful and talented ladies.

What are you doing this weekend???????

yours in reclaiming the fun,
whit

Friday...hooray!

Whew, what a week!  Although it was a short week, I felt like today could not get here fast enough. Last night Mike and I rode our bikes to the pool to meet my friend Lindsay (one of the ladies I'm swimming across the sound with) and get some swim practice in.  You know how there some days when it all comes together, and other days when you feel like every move you make is labored?  Lindsay and I agreed that yesterday was one of those days.  BUT- we swam for 15 minutes straight and then did some sprint drills for another 15 minutes.  For the swim, we will have to take 30 minute slots in the water so this is good practice in getting us ready for swimming that long without stopping.  Up next, a few open water swims in the coming weeks to get our sea legs under us... so to speak.

If you're interested in learning more about the swim across the sound and possibly supporting me, click here: http://give.stvincents.org/page.aspx?pid=564&tab=0&frsid=1187 
 
AND- on my way in to work this morning I was juggling way to many things in my hands and I dropped my bottle of honest tea all over the floor at 7:58am. Yep, tea+ glass+ tile floor+ flip flops= MESS! Please go by quickly, Friday. I'm begging.

Now for some fun.  I'm again borrowing the Fill in the Blank Friday theme from my dearest Amanda who turned me on to this blog: http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/

1.   The best news I ever received was       learning that I was going to be a big sister, again. While I love my brother dearly, we're only 2 years apart so I don't remember what it was like knowing he was coming. But, when we learned that Annaklara was on her way, I was overjoyed. She's been a light in my life ever since...she's now 12!!!!! 

Did I mention she's a state champion triathlete and swims in the FL Junior Olympics?

2.  Something I'm looking forward to is    getting home to Florida in two weeks to see my family and friends and to show Mike my home.  He's always dragging me on these historical New England adventures so I'm ready to show him how we do things Florida style.

3.  Something I would never do is     pierce my tongue or belly button, steal, or cheat.

4.  If I could choose someone to be my life coach (famous or not, living or dead), I'd choose   Caroline from Real Housewives of New Jersey. What? She gives really good advice!  OK- in all seriousness, it'd be my mom and she's basically been my life coach for 31 years. She's lived the ups and downs and gives great perspective and advice. And she knows me enough to know the right approach and what I need to hear. Yea, Miss Susie!

5.  If I had to put a label on my style it would be    challenged.  I always have great visions of what I want, but I have trouble pulling them off. If I had to choose a real style it'd be hippy meets funky. I like slightly mis-matched things and comfy cotton things.

6.  One should always       remember to use their manners. And, remember that everyone is dealing with something so just because you think they should act a certain way doesn't mean they can.

7.  I want to       travel more often to out of the way places on last minute trips.