Willow

Can you see the evil eyes I'm getting in this picture? Willow has been very angry at me for a few weeks since I no longer let him sleep with us. I figured out about a month ago that the habit willow and I have shared for 10 years of him sleeping on my face is now causing sleeping problems. I hadn't actually been getting REM sleep for a very long time. So for about 4 weeks now Willow has not been allowed in the bedroom at night and I've been sleeping much better. Unfortunately it means that willow is quite angry with me since apparently the only other place in the house that is comfy enough for him to sleep in is Bryan's office chair. Tonight he's getting some extra snuggles before bed so hopefully he'll stop giving me stink eye.

Change is coming

Yesterday was a very busy day with friends that ended very late so today was spent recovering and getting lots of chores done. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of anything today so I'm going to take a minute to write about my new job.

Two weeks from tomorrow I start a new job. My official title is going to be Senior Software Engineer but I will actually be more of a Jackie of all trades. Based on the conversations I've had with my new employer they are going to have me doing a little bit of everything and I'm incredibly excited at that prospect. I am the type of person who really enjoys any type of challenge put in front of them so the idea that I will get to do something different every day is incredibly appealing. I will have a much longer commute than I do now, but I couldn't get much better than my current commute of less than 10 minutes so I'm not going to complain about my new commute if it means that I get to do new things every day.

I am very excited about this new job and I'm very glad that I finally found a company that seems like they will appreciate the skills I have to offer more than my current company does,

Every morning

I wake up at 5:30 (sometimes 5) every weekday morning and around 7 on the weekends. Why do I do that? So I can do one of two things. I either walk/run on the treadmill or I got to this place to workout. Working out every day is very important to me. It really does make my day go better when I workout than when I don't. Working out gives a great endorphin rush and gets me though the morning. I also like working out because I get to log my points in fleetly and that makes me feel good to see strong workout numbers for the week. Starting in two weeks I'll probably have a very different schedule because of my new job but I'm still going to make time to workout because it helps me feel good,

My current commute

I find that most often I remember to take picture when I'm in my car or at home so the things I take picture of seem fairly mundane, but realistically these are the things that I see everyday so it is ver representative of my life.

I took this picture while waiting at the light on James right next to Kent station. Ive spent a lot of time in the last few years waiting on this stretch of road because there are train tracks a couple hundred feet ahead where the commuter train travels so I get stuck on the wrong side of it often. This will not be my commute for very much longer, soon my commute will be much longer. But having a longer commute isn't so bad if it means that I get to enjoy going to work every day.

Organization

A couple of weeks ago Bryan and I went to Ikea to look for organization solutions. I've been working really hard to keep the house picked up and do a little bit every day so it doesn't ever feel overwhelming. I've actually been getting up everyday and making the bed, which is a habit I've alway wished I had but never been able to make myself do. Doing a little bit of cleaning every day is helping me feel really positive because feeling like the house is clean makes me feel really positive and productive everyday. Of course my job has been making me feel productive and positive as well but this helps.

If you notice there is a Sashy alien in the middle of the right side.

My House

This is one of my favorite sites at the end of a long day. Coming home and seeing Bryan's car in the driveway usually always makes me happy. Seeing my house and knowing that soon I get to put on my jammies, maybe have a glass of wine, maybe get some foot rubs and snuggles. We bought this house 3.5 years ago but I would say in the last year we have most definitely made it into our home. Hopefully very soon we will get to take another step on that journey by painting the inside. I think people will probably be shocked by the color choices but they make me happy so Bryan says its totally worth it.

Where I work

This is the building where I work. I work on the 7th floor and I usually eat lunch on the 8th floor where I can look out the window. From the 7th floor you can see Mt. Rainier and all of the green river valley. I took this picture because as of today I will only be working in this building for the next two weeks. I got a new job and I'm very excited about it.

Artistic View

Today I went to Seattle for a surprise birthday party for one of my coworkers. It was a gorgeous day and I thought about taking a picture of the water but then I forgot. So on my way home I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the water and since I was stuck waiting at a light I took out my phone and got this fun picture. I took several pictures but this is the one I liked best.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Tonight after work Bryan and I went to dinner at Dukes chowder house and then went to Bed Bath & Beyond. Well actually I went to Bed Bath and Beyond while Bryan went next door to REI. I ended up getting the lint lizard in the picture and some new floor mats for the bathroom. But I saw this comforter set and I really liked it so I took a picture to show Bryan to find out if it's too girly for the bedroom. If it isn't then I might get it.

The rainy view

Almost every day I drive down this hill. Today Bryan was driving so I could take a picture but of course it was very rainy and icky out so you can't see any of the kent valley where I work. Down the hill on the left is Kent station where we often go to dinner or a movie. Straight across the valley is I5. This is the valley that was at very high risk of flooding last year. Maybe some other day I'll get a better picture when it's sunny.

My new favorite toy

This is the guitar from the Guitar Hero. I took a picture of it because this is my new favorite toy. Bryan bought a play station 3 a couple of months ago and I found that I liked the pattern matching part of his God of War game so I thought I might like guitar hero. Turns out I love it. When i work from home I stop working once an hour and play one song and I play it on the weekends and in the evenings when Bryan is working in the office. I haven't enjoyed a video game this much in a long time. I'm not that great at it but it's a lot of fun.

Where I eat lunch

My company actually has a very nice lunchroom. It is actually a very large corner office on the top floor of our building with ping pong and fooseball tables and a great view. Most day I'm the only one who eats lunch up here because everyone else prefers to eat at their desk while they working. Sometimes I will do that, in fact I used to do that all the time. In the last year or so something about sitting inside an ugly grey cube all day long and never seeing sunlight has gotten very depressing, so I make it a point to get away from my desk at least long enough to eat my lunch and go through my favorite RSS feeds. I have to go back to my desk soon so I'm going to stare out the window for a few minutes and hope for the sun to come back.

Sashy

This is one of my favorite views when lying on my couch. If someone is laying on the couch then Sasha MUST be there to snuggle. She curls up into her tight little ball on my feet and gives you the sad puppy eyes. Tomorrow I need to find something besides my animals to take pictures of.

The Backyard

Today was an unusually sunny so I thought I would take a picture of my backyard. The yard needs a lot of work, but I know that it will get there. We want to add a back deck and make it a lush oasis. I love that it is such a big yard for the dogs and it really feels like you're in a park which is so nice. You can't see any other houses from the yard so you feel like you're out in the country and not in the middle of a city,

I love my husband. He has been there for me during some of the worst moments of my life. There are times when he can be a royal pain in the ass. But those times are far less than then the times when he is my rock that I can't possibly live without. He is there to build me up when I'm feeling so low I feel as though I might drowned. Hoe is there to share the victories and cheer me on when I finally realize I'm so much more than I give myself credit for. At times I really want to put on the boxing gloves and take out all my aggression, but then he gives me foot rubs and makes me feel like the most beautiful women in the world and all my anger disappears. I don't know if I will ever be able to thank him enough for believing me me when I didn't have the courage to believe in myself.

I love you Honey, Now put away the damn laptop so we can snuggle!

My Kids

These are my two dogs KD (Kroger Dog) and Sasha. KD is a 5.5 year old lab/pit mix (mostly lab) and Sasha is a 3 year old lab/pit mix (mostly pit). I love pit bulls! They are the sweetest most affectionate wonderful dogs who get such a bad wrap. I wish everyone could see how sweet and wonderful they are. These two don't sleep too close to each other very often mostly because KD is a very independent spirit who keeps her distance from everyone. This morning Sasha was laying on the couch and KD crawled up and laid down pretty close to her so I covered them with a 2nd blanket and they just looked so cute and snugly that I just had to take a picture.

The view from my Desk

I spend all day every day inside a cube. For a week and half I had the luxury of sitting in an office with a window but now I'm back to my cube under the harsh fluorescent lights. Above my desk I have a collection of things that make me smile. In the picture you'll see a picture of me and my husband, a picture of my family. Birthday cards, part of my collection of paper cranes my husband has made for me, my Mister Potato Head star wars collection, my before and after motivational picture, my favorite picture of my cat and a LOL Cat Bobble head. All these things make me think good thoughts when I'm feeling low because I sit in a cube and have nothing to stare at except a grey cube wall.

Pink Boxing Gloves

My husband ordered me a pair of pink boxing gloves. If that isn't a sign of love I don't know what is. When he does something that he admits I have every right to be angry about he let's me put in his gloves and hit on him for a while to get my anger out. I would never hit anyone except that I honestly think that he enjoys it. As long as I don't hit him anywhere that really hurts, I'm usually good about *those* areas but I do tend to get him in the back of the head which apparently hurts. I've broken my nails before using his gloves so he ordered me a pair of women's gloves so I don't risk hurting myself. I think he also wants me to go through his boxing routine with him at the gym. I feel so incredibly loved.