Photos!

I downloaded my camera card, I know I have more photos on my phone from these occasions, but this is what you get!

Don't know when this photo was taken, but I think it is cute and totally shows Nova's crazy demeanor.

And here she is at Doggie Swim Day. You can tell she is enjoying herself.
This was her "put down the camera and throw the frisbee" look
And now for something completely different.

I went to Memphis last month (you know, October). It was a very interesting city. Lots of good fried food and BBQ. Apparently they had good seafood too, but I didn't eat any. The only fish I ate was fried catfish, which was AWESOME!

This was a famous restaurant there. What is it called? Um, flying something...I just liked the catfish-airplane
This lovely poodle wallpaper was from Graceland...that's right Elvis loved poodles! Okay so it was in his parent's bathroom (which also featured purple tile) but it was AWESOME!
This lovely stain glass was in the front room at Graceland. No one has ever accused Elvis of being bland.
See. Not bland.
There were TONS of creepy accessories in the house. This was just one.
This was a model of Elvis's birth home. Why did I take a picture? Well, I do believe it could be the house I live in!! Except mine has an addition on the back. Maybe in 18 years, I will be a famous rock star..
Memphis is Elvis town (as well as the blues), and I didn't really know a lot about him, but I learned! We went on a tour of Sun Records (pictures on my phone, maybe...) and I learned that when Elvis first walked in the door he was REJECTED!! It took him a year of visiting the studio and recording amateur demos for the owner to sign him. And even then it was only because his secretary insisted that he listen to the record! Crazy stuff!

This was the cutest little boat on the Mississippi. It is an Army Corp boat. We were on their inspection barge (which was HUGE) but this cute little thing came to visit. I feel like we need a boat like this for the Jordan River!

For more pictures of Memphis (and Doggie Swim Day). Click here.

August/September/October are gone!

Where has the year gone? When I was little, time dragged along and I never believed the old people that said that it would speed up when I got older. I BELIEVE YOU NOW, OLD PEOPLE!! Maybe, because I am now an old person.

August had my birthday, I went to lunch with two of the ladies I just can't shake from my life (thank goodness!) Thanks Mary and Marcie! And that night I got to see the awesome Becky get married. It was a lovely day. August also had the wedding of another friend, I was so happy when he found the woman he married, that I think I bugged him for like 6 months before he proposed to propose to her. I knew that they were a good fit. And with those two weddings, it rounded out my 3 weddings in 6 weeks. The first wedding was in July, and has to be one of the prettiest weddings I have ever attended, plus it was fun dancing the night away at the Country Club. Congrats Nat!!

September was, um, the month after August... Oh and the month I got kicked out of fat camp :( I didn't lose the 1 pound (I am still at the same freaking weight). But I did find out that in 6 months prior, according to the Healthy Lifestyles record, I had lost 9 pounds and ~5% body fat, so even though I have been staying the same weight for the past 4 months, I have been losing body fat, which is awesome and I will totally accept and be happy about.

October saw a trip to Memphis. It was for a conference, but I had a great time anyway. I ate a TON of fried food and BBQ. In fact, I really haven't been eating meat since I have been back. It really was an amazing city. The weather was FREEZING, but other than that it was great. I got to see Graceland (twice), take a boat tour of the Mississippi, ride the trolleys, tour Sun Records, hang out at BB King's club and catch up with my friends from around the country. I do love my professional organization for allowing me to meet such great people. And I am glad that my lovely Mother would come down to watch my crazy pets so that I didn't have to worry about them while I was gone.

Maybe, I will bring in my camera tomorrow and post some pictures. I feel like Facebook has taken over for my blog, which makes me sad. But it is just so much easier! I am still going to try and update, even if it is only for me to read :)

OH MY! I forgot what else happened in October!! I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON!! Cannot believe I forgot that!! I had a super slow time, but I am mostly okay with it. I would have made my goal, except the porta-potty line was 8-9 minutes and I didn't know if I would be okay just using a bush, so I just waited to use a "real" bathroom, so I missed my goal by 4'26". I did have a breakdown when I saw Mary after the race, but I really do blame it on my body being out of fuel (even though I had Gatorade and energy treats throughout the race), I was exhausted mentally and physically. It was a really fun race and it was so great to do it with so many of my friends (I think I knew like 10 people running in it). I really want to do it next year, but unfortunately it conflicts with my ASCE conference in Montreal, so I am going to have to make a hard decision next year on what I should do.

Also, KPP and Nova are doing great. KPP has been exploring the outside and allowing Nova to SNIFF her (it has to be in caps, because sometimes it is a little vigorous and actually moves her). Plus they will now sit by each other (not really close, but close enough). Nova gained 10 lbs in 6 months, so is on a diet. The vet was worried that it was her thyroid, but when I explained that she still has a ton of energy, that was ruled out and my giving her too many treats (she has been working out hard with me!) was probably the culprit. So needless to say, she now only gets one treat a day. I don't think she even notices.

And with that, I am really ending this post.