My non-human companions

So, Will and I recently purchased a dog, a Sheltie. Her name is Jandia, but I call her Jandi for short. I'm crazy about her! She's so loving and sweet that it's impossible not to do everything in my power to make her as happy as she can be.  I took the pictures below three days after I purchased Jandi. You can tell she is uneasy and nervous, but she's quite a different dog now; she has relaxed and opened up immensely. We find out new sides to her just about every day. We have finally discovered her playful side, but she's mainly just a little homebody that loves to snuggle and follow me from room to room. She really enjoys going on walks at the park and car rides around town.  I have also discovered that she really loves playing with other dogs; we've made some great friends at the local dog parks and set up play dates from time to time. She's still very quiet unless she has something in particular to say, and trust me, everyone within a mile will hear it. Wow, she has a loud voice for such a small, meek creature. 

My cat, Zoe, was very unsure at first; in fact, when I first brought Jandi home, I came through the door first and had the dog follow me in. Zoe ran to the door to greet me as usual, but as soon as Jandi slunk around the corner,  Zoe stopped mid step with her paw still in the air and had a look of utter betrayal. She looked.....hurt...that is the only way to describe it. Jandi sat down next to me, and Zoe army crawled on her belly up to Jandi, as if the dog couldn't see her in plain sight, and slapped her (the dog) across the face. Out of all the reactions I anticipated from the cat, that was not one of them. Jandi just looked up at me like, "What's her problem?"  I suppose it was a good thing that I had just placed Soft Claws on Zoe's front claws; so, I know it couldn't have hurt, but I still felt bad for Jandi. Despite the fact that Zoe has been the love of my life for years, I must say that her temper and disposition are not as sweet and meek as Jandi's. I have often thought that Zoe must be the reincarnation of a crotchety old woman, grouchy and prissy. She definitely does have her sweet, cuddly and playful moments; however, she's rather spiteful, mischievous and spoiled. Anytime you sit down, she will always immediately jump up on your lap, and she usually doesn't want to be touched too much; so, if you do touch her, she'll ignore for the first few attempts, then, turn and glare at you and squeak (like a "hmph" a bratty kid does), and THEN, she'll give you a nip, not ever hard though. Will thinks it's cute and endearing when she nips; she also does that when she's happy or playful, which is most of the time. If you keep up touching her, she'll jump down and sit a few feet away, and if you call to her she'll flip her head the other way, swish her tail and resolutely walk out. She has these funny little tantrums. Haha! What a diva! Honestly though, she's great, very loving and playful, and we ADORE her queer, eccentric personality. 

Over the last few weeks, the two have grown accustomed to each other. They play and lay together from time to time, but they give each other lots of space too. So, we have quite a happy home here, with lots of other small pets as well. We have a crown tailed beta who we've named Leviathon, a sea monster that is one of the 7 princes of hell and the gate keeper. Leviathon, the beta looks pretty evil; so, it suits him. We have two leopard geckos, Titan and Tangerine, and we also have two hermit crabs, Herman and the mean one. lol We didn't bother to name the latter because we rarely interact with the ornery creature. That makes up our happy home. 

Will is not so crazy about pets as I am; in fact, if it wasn't for me, he would prefer not to have any. But since I grew up surrounded by animals, literally, it's impossible for me to not have them around. Will also wasn't crazy about Jandi at first, but I was really touched to come home to a bed that was carefully made for Jandi out of a child hood blanket that will has been harboring for 20 years. The dogs adores that blanket, and I love  the bond it created. Our little home if full, warm and happy. Life is good. 

There's that crotchety old woman I was talking about. Haha! So cute!

 Zoe exploring our new apartment and dragging her toys along.

Manny eating a nasty centipede.

Jandia!

She looked like she felt awkward! lol "Ah! She's doing pictures again! Quick! Look away!"

Caught a moment of camaraderie. The cat doesn't like people; she's super shy, and a guy was walking by our door. So alarmed! lol

Diva.

Titan & Tangerine 

....updates and clean slates..................................

Wow...it has been a really, really.....really....long time since I've updated the cosmos on what twists my life has taken in the recent weeks and even months (sadly, it really has been that long :P) Well, mainly, I've been working...a lot. When I'm not working my 80 hours with my patient during the week, I'm doing house work, and when I'm not doing work in the house, I'm doing work at church or service projects, but I love the busy bustle of life! It makes the rare moments when time seems to stop that much sweeter. Maybe that's why I love honey bees so much. They seem to have perfected the balance between hard, driven work and lazily droning around during the blazing summer months. Other than work, I've been having a whole lot of fun, mainly crafts, reading, group get togethers, concerts, local events, writing, cooking tons, planting things, artsy stuff and hanging with my honey and our cat.....and our new addition, Jandi the dog.

I have had a crazy fun summer, and I'm looking forward to an even better fall. Will and I went camping and to the  Earth Wellness Festival weekend a month ago. We got to see our favorite local band, Cavedoll, and the weather was perfect. The festival as a whole was awesome! I intend to go every year; they had lots of cool booths about how to live happy, well balanced and long lives. Some booths were a little out there for me.....well....quite a few actually, he he. The ENTIRE festival was powered with solar panels, which is awesome! My Dad told me recently that he's afraid that I'm becoming a "Tree hugger" because I'm into Greenpeace, organic/mainly pescetarian eating, saving animals, political happenings, artsy junk, music, hoola hooping, yoga and holistic medicine. lol  Perhaps. I don't know what I am other than insanely happy. Yesterday, Will and I got a dog, a Sheltie. She's lovely and very sweet; I'm so excited to find out who she is and how she'll fit into our lives!!! I'll post pictures and more about her later. 

On a more depressing note, I went and saw my Professor friend and confidant for all things medical a week or two ago; he's a Chiropractor and wicked genius when it comes to nutrition and natural/sports medicine. He adjusted my spine and hips, which feels amazing! If you've never had it done, I highly suggest trying it. I have sciatica, and since he cracked my bones, I have slept better, had more energy and an absence of pain that has been a relief that I didn't know could exist. I haven't felt this good in years; I was totally jazzed. I discussed my struggles that I've been having with my out of control ADD and my knees and ankle when I run. He had solutions for me, but they were not easy to hear. Sigh.....no more sugar or refined food and......no more running until I lose 50 lbs. How devastating for an aspiring marathoner to hear, but he did offer me hope. He told me to take my eating habits and lifestyle back to basics: no sugar or refined food, lots of veggies, 100 g protien per day, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper, get good rest and walk on an incline for an hour a day, and above anything else, consistency. Once I reach my weight loss goal, my body will once again be ready for high level activity. So, I'm totally in!!! Of course I am! I couldn't live with myself if I gave up so easily. So, I'm starting over with a clean slate, trying to let go of my pre-misconceptions, mistakes and all that blather. I believe my new four legged friend will help; she loves running and walking :) So nice to not be alone in this. I have many other friends and family that I adore and make my life so full of happiness that I can barely contain it. Life.Is. Good.  :)    Here are some picks of the festival and camping. 

Our good buddies Allison and Camden of Cavedoll. (We heart them)

Lovely Allison again. She's a doll :)

The whole band.

Our scrumptious hobo dinner.

Will....doing something....not sure what lol : P

The sunrise coming over the peak in Rockport State Park at Twin Coves campground. 

Celebrating diversity.

Solar power rocks my world.

Continuation of consternation...

I've had some crazy changes lately. My husband and I moved from L.A. to Salt Lake City, which we love! Our apartment and Kitty are awesome! I've lost some weight, but I don't know how much.

I'm so sad that I still can't hit the pavement hard yet. My Achilles Tendon is still not healed, and my knee is still giving me problems. I miss running hard so bad. It feels amazing, but the pain from these problems is not worth it. 

Life is crazy, which makes me miss my outlet even more. I will definitely be back, but the Physical Therapist said I need to stretch and heal for another month. It feels like so long....  This just goes to show. Listen to your body! It's better to go slow and steady or stop for awhile to heal than have an injury and injure yourself further out of stupidity. Well, I just wanted to give an update. I haven't abandoned my dream; I saw a cool running store close to my house that I'm excited to go see. 

To still feel inspired, I read these awesome quotes I love:

"To succeed you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality." - Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." - John Bingham, running writer and speaker 

"Dwell on the positive, but have controlled, passionate anger." - Pat Tyson, running coach 

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed." - Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ

"Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself, and be humble." - Irish Olympian John Treacy's four principles of training prior to Los Angeles 84 

"To know you are one with what you are doing, to know that you are a complete athlete, begins with believing you are a runner." - George Sheehan 

"Any idiot can train himself into the ground; the trick is working in training to get gradually stronger." - Keith Brantly, U.S. Olympic Marathoner

Oh my heck, I suck!

It has been so long since I blogged! For shame! I have been running...off and on.....mostly off :( I have been insanely busy; I feel like I barely have time to stop and breathe. Although, my running yesterday was AWESOME! I went with Will, and about 3/4 of the way through our run, he says, "Do you need a break? You have been running a really long time. Are you okay?" I stopped and thought about it, and then I realized that I didn't need a break! I hadn't even noticed I'd been running for long. What a great feeling! 

I'm dealing with the new/old battle of time management. Morning run vs. night run. Ugh! I feel a little lost, but Will has agreed to be my "running coach". So, I'll rely on him to get me squared away. I adore running! It feels amazing! I don't have time to write much now, but I'll catch up soon! Later!