I got a DOG!!!

So...

Yesterday I went to Petco (it was actually Petsmart) in Orem because that is what I do when I'm craving animals.  Because it was not Saturday, I did not expect there to be dogs at the store (C.A.W.S brings in dogs to have adoptions on Saturdays and I go...a lot).  My plan was to hold some cats and maybe a few rodents, then migrate to Ross and think about buying a purse suitable to hold both work stuff and clothing for a trip to the gym on my way home.  However, I got distracted when I fell in LOVE with this:

I began playing with her and she was PERFECT!!!  She's mid-sized, energetic, and about 8 months old.  She's great with other dogs.  Also, the animal shelter she came from puts dogs down...a lot.  They informed me that I couldn't just wait 3 months if I wanted her alive and mine.  I called Jeremy and he came by to see.  I told him of my plan along with the details of where I would have her stay...us not being allowed dogs in our apartment and all...and he responded with, "I'm going to leave.  Make a good decision."  I informed him that if he left, I was buying the dog.  He said "I know," and that was that.

We have a dog!!!

Her name is Bridget.  She is currently staying in Jeremy's wonderfully kind grandparents' backyard with their two other dogs.  She is fitting in just perfectly and loves having friends.  George, a 6-year-old male dog who turned out not to be neutered, loves having her there.  Maybe too much...  But it's working out.

I took her today to get her rabies vaccination and to get her licensed.  She was great in the car and stayed and waited for me when I ran a few errands later on.  She didn't destroy anything and was super excited to see me when I came back.  I took her on a run/walk afterward.  I bought a "gentle leader" for training and walking purposes, but she really doesn't pull.  She still has lots of command-learning to do, but we love her already.

The owner came by and popped his head in today randomly.  He's never done that.  Of course, it was when I was in the shower and Jeremy was holding the dog.  We're not ALLOWED to have dogs.  He thought our apartment was the vacant one, as two couples have just moved out of our building, and he wanted to fix the refrigerator (which isn't broken...).  WHOOPS!  I called him after I was done cleansing myself and explained that Bridget wasn't actually living here.  He said that was perfectly fine that she had temporarily visited and thanked me for letting him know.  So we're good.

To further our adventure, we introduced Bridget to the rats.  They sniffed each other curiously and were just fine.  Flower didn't even get scared.  Later on we introduced her to Sam and Michelle.  They didn't get scared either, but Michelle did get very excited :)  It made me happy. 

I think she will be a great dog for our family.  We're both super excited and very grateful to the Dison grandparents for taking care of our baby for a few months.  I'll be glad when we move someplace we can actually have her.

Just in case you needed proof:

Alexandria + Dog = Happy

also...

Happy Alexandria = Happy Jeremy = Happy Family

Gradieachion

First of all dear lovely blog-reader friends, I realized I have been a silly person for the last few months. I enabled comment moderation but thought I had set it up to e-mail me when someone commented on our blog. Therefore, for the past 4 posts I simply figured no one loved me. I just found out that people actually HAD been commenting today...and published them. Let's just say I'm taking that little feature off and thank you so much for reading/commenting! Yay. People do love us after all!!! :)

Second of all, I thought it was worth mentioning that my lover and I finished college. Look how cute we are!!!  

It was super fun.  Both of our families came.  Activities consisted of dinners, two lovely beautiful bike rides with my parents and I, going to the graduation ceremonies (duh), a tumbling birthday party for Caitlin, hanging out at our apartment, RUNNING A HALF MARATHON, and more.  I must say that racing through the Thanksgiving Point tulip gardens, golf course, and past a bunch of moo-ing cows was beautiful and wonderful.  The weather was exactly perfect, and I got a free stretch/massage at the end.

Jeremy loves me.  He bought me a scooter!  Isn't she beautiful!?!?!  It's a blue 2006 Yamaha Vino 125cc.  I LOVE it and I'm even legal driving a motorcycle now.  I never thought that would happen.  When we first got married I promised Jeremy that he would never own a motorcycle due to their dangerosity.  Now I can't really talk.  I expect he'll have one in a few months.

So we're done.  I start my job next Monday.  Jeremy finds out next month whether he gets into Washington Medical School this year or needs to reapply next year and makes a job decision accordingly.  And it's summer!

Look at my rat in the flowers.  Even she's excited.

Done

I am done done done done done done done with finals and BYU. Yay. Very exciting. What will I do at work with no more homework? :) Jeremy is five finals and therefore five days away. Double yay. My best friend Erin comes to visit me starting tonight. Triple yay. 2nd to last day at Nestle...!

Happy April Fool's Day

I'm PREGNANT!!! I'm so excited. We just found out on Monday. It will be the first grandchild for both of our parents. Adrienne, my sister, and my parents are thrilled. We were going to call Jeremy's parents to tell them the news, but we realized they were on a cruise out of the country and therefore without cell service...so we figured that we'd just announce it this way since we know they read our blog. Let's just say I'm expecting a few phone calls. Maybe if it's a girl we'll name her Camila...haha. Too bad our health insurance through BYU expires April 26th thanks to graduation! Lol. Something will work out though. It always does.

In other great news I had a job interview for Quality Control Manager at VMI Nutrition on Tuesday that I feel went really well. I'm hoping to get it! I should find out in two weeks. I feel like this will be a better deal for us than Nestle anyway, even though I was pretty bummed about missing that opportunity. We could move to SLC and get a pre-trained year old lab puppy, and Jeremy could work doing the same research that he's been doing for his professor. Maybe we could even end up with a DISHWASHER or WASHER AND DRYER!!! I'm really excited about the prospect of working for them if they choose to offer me the job. I hope they do. They even offer DENTAL and 401K matching up to 4%. Even if I only end up putting a few thousand in, I have over 40 years until we will need it and by then it could be a LOT more. Of course, we are still hoping that Jeremy gets into St. Louis. Either way, I'm sure what is supposed to happen will and I'm looking forward to May when we have a better idea of what that is. I must say that the waiting game really sucks! I'm happy though that at least things are moving forward, going well, and that we are almost done with school :) Just think. In 9 months we could be real people!

Run Like a Girl

Dorky Things I Want for My Birthday

1) A leash for the dog I am going to run with soon (i.e. when I get a dog). I would of course want purple or black. You may click on the picture to link to the site if you're curious. That way I can look like a dork but still at least get to use my arms!

2) HUGE containers to store flour and sugar and such. Like the containers Barbie has.

3) Good makeup. Nice makeup. Including concealer, foundation and eyeshadow. I have no idea where to start. I buy the cheapest stuff I can find at the grocery store. It's just not doing it for me anymore.

4) THIS sexy running skirt in fuschia with THIS matching shirt of course :) I'd go medium.

5) A chocolate lab/pointer mix like this one of course. Yes, I know that's not possible JUST yet. In 3 months maybe, though?

I think that's enough fantasizing for one day.

I feel like I've found myself again

I went running today and listened to the number one song that gets me high. Winters leave me feeling like I'm drowning. That feeling of anger and hopelessness was particularly exacerbated this past week and weekend. After an amazing workout, a little sun, and a little thinking, I finally feel better.

I saw the woman I want to be in 5 years as I floated back down the trails of melting snow at Rock Canyon. She was a blond hiker in shining pigtails--athletic and cute dressed in black flared hiking pants and with a hat pulled over her braids. In front of her were two of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen. She let me pet them and further feed my hunger for a dog. One was a full grown Alaskan husky. But her puppy--oh her puppy!--was bred part wolf part Siberian husky. That would be my dream. To partially own a wolf. However, that dream does not fit well with my other dream to never live in a climate cold enough that a dog like that would be happy. A retriever will have to do.

Today I will sign up to run through fields of tulips with my husband for (hopefully) 20 minutes less than two hours on April 24. I sure hope it's sunny that day. It will be our first race as official graduates of Brigham Young University. A very long victory lap. Looking forward to it.