LifeofBobbi.com

First of all, thanks for all of your suggestions regarding acne cures!  I read all of them and am definitely going to try a few out.

Did I mention I bought a bike and have been using it to get to and from campus?  I bought a relatively cheap mountain bike from Walmart a couple weeks ago and absolutely love it.  It was a little rough getting used to biking almost 2.5 miles to and from campus, but it’s also really invigorating.  It’s nice because my commute doubles as my exercise for the day!  I come home really sweaty and gross, but I don’t care - I’m not really trying to impress anyone, lol.

The wedding was beautiful.  It was a very casual, laid back wedding and we all really enjoyed the four days we spent together.  I almost went parasailing, but chickened out at the last minute; damn my anxiety!  Maybe I’ll try it another time :).  We also tried out a few bars in HH - interesting stories that I wish I could share, but some things are just better left unsaid.  Just think - what normally happens on a night with lots of drinking and college students?

Hunter will not stop GROWING.  He’s over 30 lbs now and Tom and I both think he grew during the four days we were gone for the wedding.  Apparently he was quite the socialite at our friends’ houses.  He’s kind of a handful right now - moreso than before - because if we say no, he barks and runs around so we’ll chase him.  I wish I knew The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan, on a personal level.  He’d be on my cell phone speed dial!

Time to do some reading and prepare for my morning class.  I’ve still got to make my lunch, too.  I’ll leave you with a sweet picture of Romeo and Hunter (I really caught them like this, it was not posed).

Call me a nerd, a loser, or antisocial, but here’s how my ideal night goes: a glass of wine, my favorite music playing, and NO ONE ELSE AROUND. I’m in the computer room surfing and relaxing; Romeo’s peering over at me from his side of the desk. It’s peaceful and quiet and I’m in an awfully good mood. Tonight is a friend’s going away/birthday party, but I’m feeling like I’m starting to catch a cold, so I’m staying in (which is why I’m surprised I’m in such a good mood).

The past few days I have felt absolutely exhausted and I don’t know why.  I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary.  I guess my body really is trying to fight off the cold that hasn’t even begun yet.

I restarted my Sparkpeople weight loss information and printed out the grocery list so I can stick to the recommended meal plans.  That’s something I’ve never taken advantage of.  Most of what was on there seemed delicious, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem.  I also got reacquainted with the Normal Eating Support Group (here) because I’m trying desperately to stop my emotional eating habits.  Things with that are on the up-and-up.

Tomorrow morning I get to sit through two hours of a baptist service for my sign language class.  Hopefully it goes by fast.  I’m bummed that I have to get up early but I can always come home and take a nap.  It’s better than going to Jehovah’s Witness or the Pentecostal church (totally not knocking them, but personally, I can’t stand those services).

I’m going to go curl up with a book.  The thing is, I have no idea which book to read next.  Maybe the Shrink Yourself! book I bought awhile ago.

Finally, the day has come where we move OUT of this tiny, one bedroom apartment and upgrade to a two bedroom with a fenced in backyard (and where people don’t die in our apartment pool - but that’s a whole ‘nother story!). I’ve actually got about 3 hours before we can get the keys, so I’m somewhat relaxed. I plan to do the dishes, read a little, and study in the next three hours. Hunter and Romeo are both sound asleep and the only noise in my apartment is the fishtank because it’s low on water (easier to move when it’s like that).

Sometimes, I go through tough times. Nothing particularly bad goes on in my life, I just don’t always have the most positive attitude. In the past several weeks, I’ve realized how easy it is for me to go from being in a great mood to seriously hating my life. It’s like someone has flipped a switch, and that concerns me.

But to be honest, I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family - despite the major drama we have going on from time to time - they are supportive of me and only want what is best for me. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Tom. I can’t wait to take on his last name and make our relationship the most official it can be. My little kitty cat makes me so happy, too - he knows just how to cheer me up. I really think animals know when you’re sad or upset, even if you’re not outwardly showing it. This new little puppy is already very protective of Tom and I, too.

School is going well, I have the most amazing friends a girl could ask for, my bills are paid, there’s food on the table. I have a good job, go to a GREAT university, and have spent the last three years of my life living it up and enjoying myself immensely. I’ve grown a lot, and learned even more about myself than I ever could imagine.

With all of that being said, why shouldn’t I be more positive? I need to learn to push the negative thoughts away - as I just demonstrated, there is no reason to have the negative thoughts. There’s nothing about me that needs to change - maybe minor things, like not cursing so much or getting more exercise - but I’m not a bad person. I am compassionate, helpful, genuine, and trustworthy. Daily, I need to remind myself of this because in some cases where confidence is essential, I’m being held back. Considering the way my life is right now, why shouldn’t I be more confident?

Everything is going so well!  Tom and I took Hunter to a local dog park yesterday.  He’s funny when he’s on a leash - he doesn’t walk ahead of you, and frequently stops behind you and just parks it.  Then, when you call him and tug on his leash slightly, he comes RUNNING up to you at full force!  When we got to the park, there were several other large dogs who ran up to him.  We decided it was a good idea to let him socialize a little bit (if the other dogs came up to him, fine, but we weren’t pushing).  One of the dogs wanted to smell Hunter, but he kept running away, which caused the other dog to start chasing him.  A couple puppy barks later, he came running to hide behind Tom.  It was sad and sweet at the same time.  We continued to throw his ball and walk the perimeter of the park (this time, away from the other dogs - there were two full sized pit bulls running around and we were a little afraid of them).  When we got home, he was tired out (of course!) but so were we.

He gulped almost a full bowl of water when we got home, took maybe four steps, and peed.  Oops!  We hadn’t learned his signs of needing to potty yet, but now we do.  He has piddled a little a couple more times, but nothing significant.  I think the best job he has done so far with potty training is waking Tom up to go out in the middle of the night - he didn’t have a single accident!  We attempted to put him in his crate for the night, but he barked and whined.  Since it was a long, hard day for him we figured we’d hold off (and try to find more information on crate training so we did it the right way).  Needless to say, Tom slept on the couch, Hunter next to the couch, and Romeo and I in bed.  We’re trying really hard to give Romeo an equal amount of attention and ensure he knows that he can still be in the same places he was allowed (and enjoyed) before the puppy came along.  Romeo seems a little bit upset still, but is adjusting well.  He and Hunter have rubbed noses a few times, and although there has been some hissing, we don’t expect any problems (usually Hunter just comes up to Romeo too quickly and that’s why he hisses).

With that said, do ya’ll have any advice on crate training for puppies?  I found one web site that seems very informative - click here - but I’d also like some more personal suggestions/ideas.  We also went to Petsmart earlier and bought a puppy book.  I know that sounds dumb but I really wanted to impress upon Tom the necessity to train and raise our puppy properly.  Since he has never had a puppy before, I figured a book would be good because he can bring it to work and use it whenever he wants to know something about the puppy.  The internet is a great resource, too, and I keep reminding him of that.  I don’t want to spoil Hunter’s perfection.  This dog is literally perfect, and I’m not just saying that because he’s mine!  He doesn’t nip like most puppies do, he’s SO! happy and affectionate, is already recognizing his name, and stops doing whatever it is he’s doing when we tell him to stop.  I’m truly amazed at this dog.

This is the yellow lab/hound mix that Tom and I adopted this morning from an animal shelter in our area.  His original name was Ronny, but neither of us liked it so we’re going to call him Hunter.  He’s 10 weeks old and in perfect health!  We have bathed him (he apparently rolled in dog poop this morning when he was with the other puppies of the litter), set up his crate (for at night) and he’s got plenty of toys to play with.  We introduced him to Romeo and both of the animals were perfectly fine with each other.  Romeo seems kind of perturbed at me (”Why another animal?  WHY!?”) but I think he’ll be alright.  This is going to be quite the adventure :)