west meets east

That thing where you fly cross country for a wedding weekend with college friends, and you split a house, and you remember why you loved them in college and you realize they're even more awesome now, and you get to sing in the ceremony with those awesome college friends, and the groom turns out to be just right for your friend, and one of the readings is from the Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, and you may have sung college fight songs at the reception. That thing is so great.

connect the dots

That thing when you realize that what the dog shelter really needs is better online presence and public awareness, and you remember that you know a marketing person who loves dogs.

happy place

I went to Henry's shelter today, walked five happy dogs and spent a little time playing with two others, and took a bunch of pictures of this sweet girl to try to convince someone to adopt her, and then a nice veteran came in looking for a dog to fill the hole that his last dog left, and I got to see her start her new life!

fully committed

Met up with college friends for dinner in the city and then karaoke, and the bar we went to was small, full, and totally into it. Unexpectedly awesome!

dog walker

The trainer at the shelter decided I only needed one session, not two, so I'm officially a volunteer at Henry's old shelter, and so happy to be helping out!

humans to the rescue

When you've got a lot of travel coming up and people start asking if you're going away any time soon, and if so, if they can take your dog. And then you don't have to stress about lining up all that coverage. My dog and his people are awesome.

mcscreamy

Henry and I have been working on his dog anxiety issues with lots of treats and minimal meltdowns, and he's making good progress. One day, he will be sane around dogs.

they're growing up

A couple former legal assistants came in for lunch today, I love that they still keep in touch. I'm trying to get to know the new ones, and am excited about designing a training program for them.

this week

Dinner tomorrow with a visiting friend who always brings me chocolate. Karaoke with college friends this weekend. Training days at Henry's shelter so I can start volunteering there.

surprisingly calm

I flew down to LA to see how Henry (who hates being crated and is terrified of loud machine noises) would do on planes. He was completely quiet and stayed still the whole time. If he does well on the return flight tomorrow, maybe he can start coming to New York with me.

girls girls girls

Wine, cheese, fruit, snacks, gossip, laughter, old friends, new people, silly music, good times.

brownie points

Found out where my parents were going for my mom's birthday, and arranged for me to treat them, and added in wine and a birthday candle, and got lots of easy points.

birthday recap

Flowers from Boyfriend, FitBit challenge winner, funnel cake at work, pulled pork dinner, next day dinner with sister in the city (where we confirmed that we're sisters in so many ways, most involving singing, odd noises, and inappropriate gestures, much to the embarrassment of our mates).

fitbit reboot

I hit a bit of a rut on FitBit, until my coworker added me to a challenge, which spurred me to a stellar week. He's set one up for next week already, so I'm resting up this weekend.

small revelation

Homemade ketchup tastes nothing like ketchup, and it is so much better.

dinner with friends

Had three friends over for dinner last night, and we all made sous vide dishes (and some non-sous vide): wine, cheese, grapes, flatbread; wilted lettuce salad with bacon; sous vide asparagus (with bacon fat) topped with sous vide egg and truffle salt; sous vide burgers, finished on the grill and topped with lots of deliciousness, including homemade ketchup; sous vide pork loin, finished on the grill with a smoked bourbon BBQ sauce; and sous vide bananas (which acquire an interesting, dense texture) with ice cream and shaved chocolate. Finish it all off with lots of wine and games, and it was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening.

click

After all that reading, and ten days of practice (and it really is practice, with all of the "I can't do this, it doesn't make sense" that comes with practice), I think that this meditation and breathing thing may finally be starting to make a little sense. On my morning walk with the dog, something just clicked, and even if I still don't understand it, it somehow suddenly made more sense and felt less difficult.