Light at the End

The light at the end of the tunnel is shining so brightly tonight- I finished the final exam in my marketing class.  The only thing that stands between me and completing the program is writing some conclusion paragraphs.  Piece. Of. Cake.  I am so anxious to make working out a priority in my life again, and for Hunter to get more undivided attention so we can focus on sharpening his good behaviors.  I'm excited to not have to sacrifice time that I would like to spend with friends on studying.  I can't believe that I'm going to be able to read the stack of books piling up next to my bed- seriously that is a really huge deal to me.

Sam's first vacation week starts Saturday, too.  So I am really excited that I will be working but not dealing with classes.  Justin is coming down to visit us for the first Labor Day in a while (two years, in reality) and he will be in town starting a week from today.  Sam's parents, Pete & Margaux will be arriving in Orange County on Friday.  Not a bad way to spend a 3-day weekend and Sam's first real time off during his 2nd year of residency.

Another light at the end of the tunnel comes from the upcoming trips home I am looking forward to.  On September 8th I fly to NorCal for a whirlwind (approx 24 hour) wedding weekend trip, on October 5th Sam and I fly back up to NorCal for a more respectable length weekend weekend, and he is convincing me to drive up to NorCal for a few days in December when he has a week of vacation.  That would be a good opportunity for us to bring Hunter along with us since he does so well on road trips.  (Side note: I am so incredibly thankful I don't have a dog that gets carsick!)

Quick Work Update: I signed off on our SEO contract at work today, so hopefully that will start generating us some serious revenue before Christmas.  My boss told me today that some attornies want to rent the spare office upstairs, which happens to be between me and my coworker, Mark. Apparently they would prefer the end office (which is the one I am in) and want me to move into the center office.  Quick count of times I have moved:

1. From downstairs to the big upstairs office (March)
2. From the big upstairs office to the small upstairs office (May)
3. From the small upstairs office to my new, bigger upstairs office (August)

I do not want to move again.  Ugh.  HR told me not to worry about it until these guys see the price tag and sign off- apparently we've had people interested in the space but not in paying what the big boss wants to charge.

I don't really have time to worry about moving again, because I am leading a 2 hour LinkedIn Workshop on August 30th and I started making the PowerPoint Presentation today.  Oh my God, the time just completely ran away from me!  I looked at the clock and it was 3, and then suddenly it was 5:30.  I had to get the heck out of there so I could get home to Hunter and my exam, but tomorrow I am going to get right back after it.  If I can have the slides done by this weekend I can start practicing the presentation aspect of it and checking my run-time. 

Hunter & Me

Hunter & I started his Therapy Dog/Advanced 2 training class at Petsmart this morning.  There is another Cavalier in his class, Toby, who is a 3 year old Tri-Color with predominantly  black and white coloring.  I realize I am biased, but he's not nearly as cute as Hunter!

After class, we came home and were lounging on the couch and trying to keep cool despite soaring temperatures.  Here's Hunter's new favorite place to cuddle with me when I'm using the couch for a backrest and the ottoman for a desk. 

Around noon, Sam called and invited us to bring him lunch and hang out at the hospital for a little bit.  He was on call today and last Friday, so we were really excited to spend a little extra time together.  It was cool to get a mini (outdoor only) tour of the hospital and see where the Ortho Clinic is and where Sam does the majority of his work.  After we hung out for a while, Hunter and I headed back home.  

After dropping Hunter off, I ran to Target to pick up a few things- I was completely out of deodorant for one thing- and I found a coverlet for our bed.  Sam and I have trouble sleeping when it's really hot out because we both like to snuggle under the covers but get too overheated.  He had us switch out my down duvet for his cotton comforter but I haven't really noticed that I've been cooler.  My Social Media Strategist said she and her hubby had the same problem until they got one of these thick blanket coverlets from Target.  I am really excited to try it out tonight- I put the duvet back on and per Raleigh's suggestion will probably toss that to the bottom of the bed to sleep.  

I spent the afternoon prepping for the Final Project in my Marketing Class.  I did the majority of the spreadsheets and left only a few equations for my partner to tackle this week.  I will have to focus on writing up some concluding paragraphs later this week, but that shouldn't be too difficult.  Tomorrow I am going to conquer the only other thing standing between me and earning the marketing certificate: the Final Exam.  I am so anxious for this to be over so that I can focus more of my attention on my fitness/health and Hunter/our family when I'm not working.  With as little time as Sam has off, it kills me to have to work on homework while he's home.  And Hunter's training has fallen by the wayside so much these last 6 weeks because I am so focused on schoolwork that I haven't been working on reinforcing his skills.  I am really looking forward to having free weekends and nothing hanging over my head- I'll have a lot more time to get back into reading the King of Thrones series on my nook too!  

Last thought before bed: I watched Married to Jonas tonight and really enjoyed it.  Sure, they are definitely not the sharpest tools in the shed, but they actually seem pretty authentic and sincere and they may quickly usurp the #1 Hollywood Couple spot on my list.  Good luck to them, and may their relationship end better than most of famous couples who do reality TV.  

Birthday Ideas

So today is exactly 1 month before my 27th birthday.  Wow.  I can't believe I am turning 27; mentally, I am still getting used to being 26!

Last year was not exactly the birthday I hoped for- Sam's plane got delayed in Atlanta, and he arrived close to 9:00, so we missed out having dinner together.  The night before my birthday, Carrie came down and we went bowling with friends and then had dinner.  It was very fun, but I was a little disappointed that Sam couldn't celebrate with me.

So this year, I am hoping to have a different birthday experience!

This brings me to this: Random Acts of Birthday Kindness!

A friend from college recently posted about doing things like this for her birthday... thanks Lea!  It looks really cool, and while I am planning to work on my birthday (I actually may be starting a 2-day product training session in Long Beach on my birthday) it would be cool to do something like this on one weekend day during my birth month.

Top of the World & Fresh Fish

Last weekend Sam had a Golden Weekend- Saturday & Sunday off.  Our water heater went out and while the handy man was fixing it, we decided to take Hunter on his first hike.  Obviously we all know how that turned out.

After the hike, we ran some errands and checked out this AWESOME family owned and operated fresh fish market.  We can't wait to go back!

Family Hike

Top of the World Hike in Laguna...

Hunter getting heat exhaustion

Pearson's Port: Our new favorite Fresh Fish Market

Ready for purchase!

Opo

On the grill with some corn on the cob

She threw in two shrimp for us to taste- best fish dinner I've ever cooked!

Hunter Update

It's been a rough couple of days...

On the Upside: my instructor reopened the quiz and I was able to score an A on Monday during my lunch break.

On the Downside: Sam's car is not fixed.  In fact, it wouldn't start Monday morning and I had to get up and drive him to work.  Then I left work a little early to pick him up and get his car jumped and dropped at Acura for service.  Of course, they had no loaner vehicles, which meant that I had to pick him up and drop him off on Tuesday as well.  Awesome.

Tuesday morning, I started working from home when I got back from the hospital instead of going back to bed.  That meant I was off earlier in the afternoon and got to come home.  It also meant that I was with Hunter when he started projectile vomiting.  We took a quick trip to the vet where Hunter got intravenous fluids and injected anti-nausea medication.

I am very happy to report that he's doing MUCH better now.  We went to pick up Sam Tuesday, got his car from Acura (supposedly there was a short circuit), and exchanged the battery at Costco that we had just purchased last week.

I'm tired.  I missed out on the Kiss/Motley Crue concert dealing with the car.  I have had meetings every day this week and am feeling pressed for time on some of my ongoing projects.  All I want to do is finish my freaking class and focus 100% on work & Hunter (who has been a little neglected with his training and reinforcement lately.)

Almost there!

Hunter Hiking

More like Hunter whining the whole time and begging to be carried while Sam rued the day he let me get a puppy.

Sam and I have been suffering from a run of bad luck.  On Saturday afternoon the pilot light on our water heater went out.  I am a pretty savvy lady, but couldn't get it to light.  We called the maintenance guy, and had to get out of the house with the puppy (since our leasing company doesn't know we have a dog).

Sam wanted to take the Top of the World hike in Laguna Beach, which was beautiful, but we hadn't packed any water, went at noon, and we are in the middle of a serious heat-wave.  As a type this at nearly 11 PM I am sitting here baking alive.  Needless to say it was a little painful.

Hunter was acting strangely all afternoon, and after a cold shower- the pilot light was evidently NOT fixed, he had diarrhea all over the carpet.  Wonderful, puppy.  I felt badly for him, he was obviously unable to get comfortable, wasn't eating, and seemed pretty miserable.

He and I went and laid down in the bedroom while Sam supervised the replacement of a part on the water heater at 9 PM last night.  Woohoo!  Back to having hot water showers!

Then, this morning, Sam's car wouldn't start.  This has been an on-going issue in the evenings over the course of the last 8 days but now it is affecting my sleeping in!  Hunter and I went to drop off our surgeon at the hospital and then finished getting ready for the day.

This afternoon, Sam decided to get off early to try to take the car to be fixed at the dealership.  Lucky me, that meant that after running late to work, I had to leave at 4:30 to fight commute traffic and pick Sam up from the hospital.  We got the car to the dealership to find out they currently have no loaner vehicles.  What?!?  That sucks!  So now, I am getting up at 4:30 to take Sam to work and will be missing out on a KISS concert tomorrow night to pick him up.  Bummer.

To top it off, this evening I went to log in and take the quiz for my online class and it was closed.  So much for believing my classmate who told me that the deadlines didn't actually mean anything.  I put a call into my instructor and left her a voicemail explaining that I would like to take it online, or via email, if possible rather than take a zero score.  Even if I do take a zero I will end up with an 87% going into the final project.  Not a huge concern, but annoying all the same because I've only missed 20 points so far in the course.

C'est la vie.  I'm trying to roll with the punches and not get too bent out of shape!

Wedding Season 2012

I have T-minus 3 weeks until I am done with my marketing class... which is great because I have taken on more and more responsibilities at work.  I am so thankful to have amazing opportunities to grow professionally and be a part of the success at my company.  On top of work, I have a lot of fun weekends coming up.

In a few hours I will be hopping on a flight to SFO where I will join Carina and we'll meet our grandparents.  Nonna & Papa are taking us to dinner in the city before we head home for the big unveiling of the Santi "Kitchen" Remodel of 2012.  What started as a kitchen addition, turned into quite the home project- affecting our living room, dining room, guest bathroom, and hallway in addition to the kitchen addition. 

Tomorrow morning, Carina and I will head up to Lake Tahoe for a wedding.  Mom and Dad are arriving at the Hunter Lake House sometime early this afternoon with the Wards (who have kids my and Carina's age) to relax before college friend Dominic's daughter, Katie's, wedding tomorrow.  I haven't met her soon-to-be-husband yet, but I am really excited to do so.  Katie and Rick have been together since college, and I was not surprised when he proposed.

The Wards' son will be getting married next month, and I'll be heading home the second weekend in September to attend that.  Their son, Matt, is marrying a really wonderful girl, Whitney, who I was able to meet at the 49er games this fall.  Matt and I have kept in touch since high school through tailgating during football games.  I am really happy for he and Whitney, and really excited to celebrate their nuptials.

Bring up the end of the 2012 wedding season, Allison is getting married the first weekend in October.  I am so, so happy for her.  Allison was a huge role model for me in junior high school and high school when she paved the road for me into water polo.  She and her mom convinced my mom and I that I should get involved in the sport, she had me join her summer club team for the Junior Olympics, and she drove me to practice when I was a sophomore on the our High School Varsity Team. 

The only bummer about all these great trips is having to leave little Hunter Puppy at home.  Sam's got call tomorrow and won't be home until Sunday afternoon some time.  So I am leaving here shortly to drop Hunter off at our vet's office where he will be boarded until Sam comes home on Sunday.  This is Hunter's LONGEST stretch at the vet's office- we have boarded him overnight before, but never two nights in a row.  I am honestly a little nervous for him!  At least I can be an overbearing mom and call the vet to check in on him.  LOL.