3/13/2012

Puppy Love

oh puppy love...*sigh*

I'm not talking about the butterflies in your stomach, heart beating fast, first crush, kind of puppy love. I'm talking about puppy love - in other words, love for your puppy. 

I have always been a dog person. I grew up with all kind of dogs. We had Basset-hounds,  and Newfoundlands, and Pit Bulls, and mutts. Quite the mix of breeds, right?

But it wasn't until I had my own dog that I would truly understand what having a dog really meant, for me personally that is. When I was growing up, I would say that our family dog(s) was my dog, but they weren't. They were the family dogs, or really, my parents dogs who I liked to claim as my own - similar to my parent's house, my parent's money, and my parent's car, etc. I had no responsibility for our dog(s). I wasn't responsible for feeding our dogs..I wasn't responsible for the vet bills.. and I only had to take them outside or play with them if I felt like it. 

I guess I would admit that the younger version of myself did not fully understand what having a dog meant, and did not fully embrace what an amazing companion a dog can truly be. It wasn't until I had a dog "of my very own" that would start to appreciate all of the things that dogs give to humans.

Dogs give us a sense of safety and protection (well, my dog does anyway....because he's a big dog...not a little dog like a Yorkie or Pug - but maybe your little dog gives you a sense of safety and protection, which is great!....moving on..)

Dogs love you no matter what. They are excited to see you when you walk in the door and greet you with an excited tail wag (but in my case, its a waging "nub"). Dogs know when you are sad or when you've had a rough day and know that the only thing to make it better is having a paw to hold. 

Is this getting too mushy? The point of all of this is that, for me, my dog has changed my life and made me see the world a little differently. And for all of you, this post is for me to introduce you to my dog. My best friend. My boy. My Coop-a-Loop. 

Meet Cooper

As a puppy...
 
{wearing a tshirt so he didn't get a sun burn}
 
{supporting the Boilermakers)

 
{oh and here he is just being handsome}

Cooper is a white Boxer. He is 3 years old with the heart of 3 month old. He is silly, and clowny, and clumsy most days. But behind his playful exterior, he is smart, loving, and starving to learn new tricks. Hes a 65 lbs dog who thinks he's a lap dog, and I wouldn't want him any other way. He's a cuddle bug, and a terrific napping partner. He's strong, and protective. He's amazing. 

I'd love to hear about any dog stories that you might have or would love to chat about anything K9. Leave your comments below or feel free to email me.


3/12/2012

Love it or leave it?

So I don't know about all of you, but this beautiful weather that we have had here in New England the past few days is getting me excited to bring out one of my fashion favorites. Maxi skirts! Ahh! I'm obsessed! I've been obsessing over maxi skirts since my first purchase last fall and I can't get enough. My most recent purchase was this awesome maxi by Pure Sugar. Its navy and white, its got small chevron stripes (obviously trendy), and its pleated all over....and it is amazing. I will have to post a picture when I wear because the description really does not do it justice. 


Now that you are all aware of my maxi skirt obsession. I want to know what all of you think....kind of generic I know, but...

Maxi Skirts
Love it or Leave it?

Leave your comments below! Lets start a discussion!

White Long SkirtSimple <3 in loveIn love.....there's something about maxis
Maxis, maxis, everywhere!Splendid maxi skirt- need this!green maxi skirt

all pictures courtesy of Pinterest
*which all of course came from some other website*

3/08/2012

Outfit of the Day

This weather has really thrown me for a loop. I don't know whether to unearth my spring clothes or continue wearing sweaters....put away my snow boots? start wearing sandles? make up your mind, mother nature!

This weather phenomenon is the reason that I have not been posting very much {Outfit of the Day} excitement. Because well...I'm not excited about the things I've been wearing. My winter wardrobe is becoming boring and drab and I am ready to wear my skirts and bright colors! 

But because our weather isn't consistent, I must make due with what I have. Here is my outfit from Tuesday (the high was 37 degrees....today...its 68....)


yep...those are poodles on my cardigan. 

3/05/2012

Worksheets

I miss homework. Is that wrong of me to say? I don't believe I miss being graded on my work, but I miss the responsibility of having to complete something. I miss that feeling of accomplishment when I could look at an assignment and know I kicked it's ass.

In order to fulfill this assignment-completing-void in my life, I'm giving myself homework. If you read my earlier post about budgeting, you already know that I need to get my finances together. So I've found a few worksheets online that I am hoping will help me to focus on my finances and give me the ability to lay it all out in front of me and determine where I can cut some costs. This should be exciting!....and scary....

Check out www.budgetworksheets.org (original, I know..)

If you like to work your finances online, you can also check out www.mint.com. I plan to spend more time on this as my good friend recommended it and it's also recommended by CNN Money.


Funny Workplace Ecard: I'd be happy to teach you how to live on a shitty salary.


Ooohhhh a feature!

I'm being featured on www.katherinehschneider.com today! Check out Kathy's blog to learn 5 fun things about me...and do some browsing on her blog while you're there too. Kathy has a great sense of humor and I love that she totally embraces her nerdy personality. 

Thank you, Kathy for the feature! I'm anxious to see if I gain a few more followers....because if I don't, I'll probably stop blogging....I'm kidding, but seriously....

3/01/2012

Budgeting...

After establishing my need for a disposable income, I thought it would be appropriate to take a moment to talk about budgeting...

Budgeting is boring...budgeting sucks...and apparently budgeting is a necessary part of being in your twenties. At the beginning of each month, I take a look at my bank account and realize that I did not do a good job of watching my spending in the last month. This is a sad, and pathetic realization that happens to me 12 times a year. 

I get paid on the 1st and 15th of each month...
....and each month on the 1st, I feel poor,
....and each month on the 15th I feel a little richer,
....and then the 1st comes around again and I'm back to being poor.
Its a vicious cycle.

So on the first of each month I take a few minutes, and a piece of scrap paper and try to figure out my finances..

total in bank account
- rent (i hate rent)
- approx. $$ for groceries before next check
- credit card payment #1
+ 15th payment
- cable bill
- water bill 
- electric bill
- gas bill
- approx. $$ for groceries before next check
- credit card payment #2
broke

Oh and did I mention that my boyfriend and I are trying to save money for a down payment on a condo/first home? Yeah...that's happening. So obviously I need to come up with a serious budget and stick to it. And the first thing I am cutting out is eating lunch in the cafeteria at work. If I ate lunch in the cafeteria everyday for a month, and spent an average of $5 each time, I would spend $25 a week = $100 a month = $1200 a year....are you f'ing kidding me?! So long cafeteria lunch...hello left overs...


If anyone has any good budgeting tips they have discovered and would like to share, I would love for you to email me or leave them in the comments.