A Surprise Houseguest!

This morning I was calmly sitting at my computer, logging in to my work email, when Luna started going crazy. Not the kind of barking crazy where there is a cat in our backyard...or a squirrel she's spying to catch... No, this was more like an insane - "oh my god there's an axe murderer in the backyard" - kind of yelping and screeching...

So I walk over to the back door and what do I see in our alley?

A giant deer! It's hard to tell from this photo (which I quickly took with my phone!)...but this deer and I would probably see nearly eye to eye. She was incredibly tall. And she heard Luna going crazy so she just calmly stood there and stared back at us for a full 1-2 minutes before she galloped off down the alley. I'm guessing she lives in one of the nearby parks and was out foraging for food. As you can see, everything here is still blocked in by mounds of old, dirty snow which has turned into solid blocks of ice. Anyway - kind of a cool moment...

Happy Year of the Ox!

Today begins the Lunar New Year celebration in most Asian countries. Families gather and most businesses are closed during this holiday. 2009 is the Year of the Ox. According to Chinese astrology, the following is my horoscope for 2009 (I was born in the Year of the Dog)...

Dog Overview
2009 will present the Dog with a number of challenges. Your patience will certainly be tested in more than one instance. You may not necessarily gain the notoriety you desire in your career, but certain advancement opportunities will surface throughout the year. You will find comfort with your family and solidify bonds that are necessary for your well being. You may have issues juggling your family life with your work schedule, but you will make great strides in both areas by the end of the year.

Dog Rating
52% (5 favorable, 4 neutral and 3 unfavorable months)

Dog Career
Your work will play a large role in the year of the Ox. You may find yourself working long hours to achieve a promotion or to further your pursuits. Though you may only see minor results this year from your hard work, your ethics do not go unnoticed. Later in the year, you may be offered a step in the right direction, which will flourish sometime next year. Stay focused and be willing to listen to the advice of others and you should have a promising year with your work.

Dog Relationships
Domestically, the Dog can achieve new levels in a relationship this year. People who know you think highly of you, as you are a well respected individual for your work ethics and your devotion to the ones you love. Be open to communication, as you may, at times, be unwilling to change your views even when your partner has a valid point. If you can work on this issue, then you will find your relations with family members and friends very gratifying this year.

Dog Health
Your strong work ethics leave you working long hours, sometimes denying the warning signs of the effects on your health. Take the proper breaks and give yourself the time to recuperate from your busy work schedule or you may be out longer than you desire. You are instinctively a very active person and exercise is not something that you need to remind yourself to do.

Dog Wealth
Financially, you may not achieve the results you seek, but you are well on your way. Keep your spending within your budget, even though there may be items that you desire to purchase to enrich your home. The time will come to make the changes, just focus on the basics for now. There may be a change for the better towards the end of the year, so be patient and exercise care when it comes to spending.

...so all in all - not too shabby. In a nutshell, be patient, listen to others and don't overwork myself. All good advice. Want to find out what your Year of the Ox will be like? Check it out HERE. Happy New Year!

Keeping the Faith...

Think less. Feel more. Ask once. Give thanks often. Expect the best. Appreciate everything. Never give up. Make it fun. Lead. Invent. Regroup. Wink. Chill. Smile. Live as if your success was inevitable, and so it shall be.

Love,
The Universe

Inauguration Day

I love this photo of the Obama family during their day of service yesterday. I am so proud of our new "first family". I am inspired by the level of hope and optimism this family has brought to people, here in the U.S. - as well as worldwide. While I believe (and I think most people know)true change will not come easily, I believe if anyone has the ability to bring back the true spirit and infuse the American people with hope and motivate us all to do our part...it is this man. It is a great day. Be sure to check out THIS site as well...

A New Year, A New Me...

I got my haircut and highlighted today. I hadn't had this done since September. Lord knows it was WAY overdue! I scaled way back on the color this time (trying to get back to my "roots" LOL). So I present to you - the before and after photos:

BEFORE:

AND AFTER...

Much better, right?

In other news, the radio station where Steve works allows a different listener to come in each Saturday night and "host" for two hours, playing whatever music they select (within the station's format - adult album alternative). So the person who was supposed to host this week's show bailed at the last minute, and Steve called me in for backup... Being somewhat of a music freak, I thought this would be fun. Let me tell you - being a radio DJ is a LOT harder than it sounds! It's hard to remember all the things you need to say in between songs and coming out of commercial breaks, etc and not fumble your words. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Steve's job. I already knew that he worked hard and that his job took a lot of energy, creativity, and attention to detail...but I had no idea. It was really fun to try something new and to share a little bit of myself and my favorite music with folks. I even did a little dedication to "my daughter in China", which was very cool, and I even got through it without getting weepy - YAY!

*NEW UPDATE* - Listen to me dedicate a song to Lia - HERE

P.S. - A big CONGRATS to Stephe, who met her gorgeous baby girl in China this week! Once again proving this long wait it worth it...

21 Months & Home Alone

Steve has been on a business trip in Florida since Thursday. You can't get much further from Spokane than Miami - in the contiguous U.S. at least... Poor Killer (our Yorkie) has had a hard time adjusting to Steve going back to work fulltime, and now with him out of town, he is not happy. For the past three years, Steve had been working from home, and therefore Killer rarely was without Steve for more than a few hours at a time. The poor little guy has some serious seperation anxiety going on. He shakes like a leaf! Earlier in the week he was nervous. It started last weekend when we took down the Xmas tree and moved the furniture around. Our poor dogs have been moved SO much over the past few years... everytime they see us packing up boxes and moving furniture they get nervous. Then when Steve went back to work on Monday, Killer just stopped eating and would shake...I worried he was sick! I think he just knew that the suitcase was out and could sense that Steve was going somewhere. We took him to the vet on Wednesday. Killer is 10 yrs old, but the vet said his heart sounds great - and his spine and joints seemed to check out fine...other than some tooth decay, he is in good shape. The vet agreed it probably is just anxiety around the new schedule. So I've been trying to give Killer some extra love this weekend:

Luna also keeps going to the back door and looking for Steve. It's quite cute. I keep assuring them he will be home in "two minutes" (our code word for "soon"). Meanwhile, I feel like chopped liver because neither one could care less about me being here - LOL. Tomorrow is Luna's 6th birthday. Hard to believe it's already been six years since I brought that 2 lb black ball of fur home. :)

It's quite weird to be here by myself. On my way home from dropping Steve at the airport on Thursday, I realized it was only the second time I had driven in this town! I moved here the day after Thanksgiving, and Steve already knew his way around, so I let him do the driving for the first couple of weeks so I could learn landmarks and directions... Then our huge snowstorm hit, and hit, and hit...and I don't care for driving in more than a foot of snow. So fearless Steve kept driving us where ever we needed to go. Thankfully this weekend, things warmed up into the 30s and 40s and the snow started melting.

So since Steve's been gone, I also realized that I know NO ONE here in Spokane. I have no co-workers, no friends, and no relatives here. I met our landlord once. I have met Steve's boss and his wife once. I've met our petsitter, and now our vet...once each. Wow. Luckily, I'm not a person who needs to be surrounded by people. I'm a pretty independent soul. So what have I been doing for three days? Let's see - lots of exciting things: went shopping for socks and underwear; scrubbed the bathtub and hung a new shower curtain; downloaded cheesy ringtones to my cellphone; watched a Tivo'd "marathon" of House Hunters episodes; unpacked and organized my closet; enjoyed some "boy talk" with my friend Megan; changed the radio away from Steve's station (ssshhhh...don't tell) to the teenybopper station and "danced it out" to the sounds of Pussycat Dolls, Miley Cyrus, Brittany, and Katy Perry. Whew! Let me tell you, it's been EXCITING around here...LOL. I'll definitely be ready to pick Steve up at the airport tomorrow night!

...last but not least...today is 21 months wishing for Lia...