New Addition?

No we're not pregnant. I thought I would try to at least freak some of you out who had to click on the title to see what the heck I was talking about. We've applied to be a foster home for Labrador Retrievers (not human children) and they are coming for a home study tonight. Crazy right? I guess they just want to make sure we don't feed them car parts as snacks or keep Duke tied to a tree or something. The only part I'm worried about is our unfinished fence. There are still one major side that is still chain link and some parts that need some dirt underneath so dogs don't try to dig out and such. But I think it should be fine considering they want us to kennel them during the day to train and avoid escape from any kind of fence. I'm really excited about getting some other doggies in here to play with Duke and train them up to be awesome like Duke so that they can find a new "forever home." They say that the average stay for a foster dog is about 3 weeks. That was surprising for me, but I guess because they are such a popular breed, they don't take as long to get adopted out. And I'm pumped b/c they pay for food and leash and vet and everything. We do have to get used to kenneling again. Duke was so chill and didn't eat everything so we stopped trying to kennel him when he was still pretty young. I'm just excited that we get to help save dogs from being euthanized each month! So say a little prayer about our home study tonight and I'll be sure to keep you updated on what's going on.

Taking care of myself

Well, as some of you might have read on Facebook, I thought I had mono. The quick test came up negative, but we are waiting for the full blood work to see for sure, but the Dr. doesn't think I have it b/c I'm not dying. All I know is that I've felt extremely tired for about 5+ weeks now. And no, I'm not pregnant. I have been working on getting hotter lately. I'm not still doing SB..it was giving me a major headache, literally. So I'm "making smart choices" and I've lost 6 pounds since Easter. Yay me. So I'm just not eating cookies and ordering smart at restaurants (ok, most of the time) and it seems to be making a difference. So we shall see for sure about this mono thing on Tuesday (b/c of the holiday) but in the mean time I will be trying to just lay low so I don't aggravate anything I have or am fighting off. But I will be traveling to Austin tomorrow for Meal's wedding. She's wearing my veil! I'm so pumped for her! See ya on the flip side.

We're all alright!

I just thought I'd put that as the title b/c I hear that song any time I stay late for work b/c the ladies watch the Drew Carrey Show. I thought it would be fitting today. My dad is safely back from Kurdistan as of yesterday. He's pooped out and sleeping so I haven't heard any neat stories yet. You can however see some of the pics one of the other guys took on his blog: http://rescue.typepad.com/my_weblog/ I am doing ok on my new initiative/diet. I'm almost detoxed from sugars/carbs. Yesterday and today have been really difficult. I'm having cravings, "using dreams," and "addictive thinking" ...and it's actually been helpful in connecting in some small way what my clients must be going through. The headaches, visions of my drug of choice (sugar), and the rationale that I can just eat one small cupcake and be ok...."I can go without tomorrow!...Just a small hit won't hurt!" OMG. Are you kidding me? Visions of cupcakes, cookies, and tortilla chips are dancing in my head at random. I hope I'll make it through the weekend without cheating...but I don't think I really planned all this out well considering Mother's Day is this weekend and we have between us THREE mothers in the same town that are all going to want us to eat yummy things with them. Boo. Either way, I only have veggies and lean meats in the fridge/pantry so it's that or nothing if I want to eat here. Wish me luck! AND HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you mommies out there!

Getting back to (a hotter) me

It's almost summer time. You know what that means? Weddings. Pool parties. Lakehouse. Playtime. Those things don't mix with low self-esteem and apathy toward my body. I want to feel good and healthy. I'm sitting here watching The Biggest Loser 7: Couples right now. Last week I watched it while eating a Double Stuffed Oreo. Also last week, one of the women weighed in at a couple of pounds less than I weigh today...and she's not done yet. Oops. So today I'm watching it and starting my new initiative. I'm jump-starting my change of eating habits by doing Phase I of the South Beach Diet again. I'm not sure if I can do Phase I for two weeks like you're supposed to, but I'm going to try it for at least a week and then re-evaluate. I did South Beach before my wedding and it really helped me re-learn how to eat healthy. Then maybe I'll do WW online to help me stay on track. Soon I'll get back into some dance classes and going to my yoga classes I got as a gift. I just thought that if I wrote about it on my blog that I'd have a bit more accountability and I'd actually work on it! So let's get hot!

Artwork Fun

This weekend we had ALOT of rain and storms. But we also had the Cottonwood Art Festival again in Richardson. It is so much fun. Artists from all over the country come to present their wonderful creations. Ryan, Duke, and I went to admire the beauty this time around and got to pretend we were cultured and had money to buy these beautiful objects.

This year we actually bought something (besides kettle corn). I've been wanting a necklace that is fun, beautiful, different, and diverse...but not too much going on. So I was really happy to find this lady who made these beautiful necklaces and rings out of exotic bird feathers. She shapes the colors of the feathers over one another to make a beautiful pattern. Ryan and I picked out this one and I enjoyed showing my gift from my honey off today! Here's a pic...it's not too clear, but you get the effect.

Here are some of our other favorite artists we saw there:

- Leedy Art (Art That Makes You Laugh)

- Michelle Mardis (amazing doggies)

- Barbara Krupp

- Stephen Schubert (go to "gallery" and then "words" and "words continued"...I want to hang some of these in my office)

- Kathy Womack (her new gallery reminds me of Rockwall moms)

- Jimmy Ellis (Ryan didn't like it, but it cracked me up...find your dog)

- Art by PJ (check out the shoes!)

- Jay Long (I call this the creepy nursery rhyme art....love it.)

Duke didn't have any favorites. I guess he liked the doggie water bowl stops and all the smells the best.

I love spending the day with my hubby and my baby boy. Quality time is so important to me and it doesn't hurt if you have beautiful artwork to look at at the same time.