the perfect pooch

i'm not talking belly pooch, but the pooch of the canine variety. after spending 72 hours (almost exactly) with Macy, i'm in love. she's so great that when tania called me yesterday because they had to cut their trip short because their one-year-old was sick, we (ok, me) practically begged to keep her another night. so i got one more morning with macy at the dog park, in the backyard, and on a walk. i'm an animal lover in general, but i think with me the fondness is just like how all of my friend's kids are cute, some are so freaking adorable and/or funny and amazing. and just like that, i like all dogs/cats, but some are just so damn cute/gorgeous that i adore them. like macy.
the downside to the fun-dog-filled weekend is that i'm now so tired that tuesday at tower has for one night only become tuesday dinner at crepeville curtis park. which i'm scoping out for father's day anyway.
and as for our cats, they were champs this weekend. flynn was fascinated with macy, and moxie warmed to her eventually. if we weren't going on a big trip this fall, we'd be dog hunting already. it will have to wait until winter/spring, but it's gonna happen!

turtles and raptors and gardens, oh my!

this is where mike and i went yesterday. so beautiful. saw two raptors eat lunch. walked the gardens. much fun. (or much love, as tc would say!)

this morning i was so busy (bank, gym, store, peet's, laundry, shower) that i forgot to eat breakfast! may as well make it lunch, now.

i must get something done before macy gets here, so that i can walk her to exhaustion this afternoon.

the weekend with macy

not the store--our friends brian & tania's dog. she's coming to stay with us while they get out of town for some much-needed couple's time. i'm just glad they didn't ask me to watch their son! we'll see if i can handle the dog. and it will be a good barometer for how the cats will do if we get a dog, which we have been discussing more seriously lately. mike has already pretty much declared himself hands-off the dog this weekend (couldn't his mom have gotten the boys a dog just once in their lives?) so macy and i will be exploring the neighborhood, park and dog park together. and i think us girls are going to have some fun!

end of an era

last night marked the end of a trilogy of shows that have gotten me through some tough times. first there was buffy, which i used to watch in my dungeon-esque apartment in midtown. then there was felicity, which got me through wedding planning and a cancer diagnosis. and lastly was alias, which effectively took my mind off multiple surgeries, chemo and radiation for almost a year.

and for each of those series finales, i have bawled like a baby. like i was losing a best friend. and in a way i guess i was. the end of each show has also closed a chapter in my life.

as for what's next, well, veronica mars should fill the void nicely. and if you're not watching it, you're missing out.

"0 comments"

not to be confused with "no comment." that "o comments" taunts me every time i come to my blog. but let's face it--no one's reading this. and since i'm not blogging for profit (although god i wish i were), this is more of an open diary kind of thingy anyway.

my sister and dad just left. she's just the same as i remember, except she's gained about 100+ pounds in the last few years. it's sad. and hereditary, which is why i'm freaking out about the 10 i've put on in the past few years. i'm not overweight (although i'd be glad to lose about 20), but i could very well end up that way if my genes have a say in the matter. and it doesn't help that sheri is talking about chocolate at the little zygote that could! so i blame her for the four faux oreos i just ate (vegan newman-o's).

but alas, i digress (or is it digest?).

so as they were leaving, my sister gave me two tickets to her son's high school graduation in a few weeks. yes, her son is (also) my nephew, whose diapers i had to change while studying for finals my junior year of high school when my sister left him with us while she disappeared for days. he's been a busy boy. apart from juvenile issues, he's now facing hard time for embezzling from his employer. the apple never does fall far from the tree, eh?

for now, i'm happy that lunch went well, she didn't steal anything (or at least i haven't noticed if she did), and we found enough to talk about that there weren't too many awkward silences. it's all about baby steps.

books

i blame my dad for my need to compulsively hoard books. yesterday i went to tower books and bought some new reads for the summer, which will most likely only last a month or so. i bought the tipping point, 102 minutes, marley & me, and the da vinci code (to see what all the hoopla is about).

but right now i have to finish Lighting Up : How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved in Life Except Sex. which does get me some weird looks at the gym, but it's so good.

and yes, i've been cleared to add the elliptical trainer to my workouts at the gym. still no weight bearing in the form of walking, running and leg weights though. the mri is sunday, but my pt now thinks it may involve my meniscus, which could require surgery to repair. i told him i was willing to give up running (let's face it, it's not really running anymore, it's more like slow jogging), but i have to be able to go for long walks still. if i have to never run again in order to avoid surgery, i'm fine with that.

and tomorrow is "the lunch" with my dad and sister (haven't seen her in six years). should be interesting.

tuesdays at tower

that's the new thing for katie and i. until she leaves (if she leaves...well, she will leave for school, but if she leaves for europe). last night it was friends with money which we both really enjoyed. next week it's thank you for smoking. and i already warned mike i'm dragging him to see an inconvenient truth when it comes out.

last night made me remember how much i love my old friend tower theatre. the place where i was groped by a rock star on our first date, while seeing belle de jour. and where i called in sick at the bank so barbie and i could go see shallow grave. and where, back when i was still doing things with my mom, we saw before sunrise. and more recently (well, not recently, but chronologically, anyway) i dragged mike to see trainspotting and the blair witch project (not at the same time, mind you). and the last movie i saw there was intimate strangers, with the mamazine gals.

i also remembered how great it is to go to the movies on a hot summer afternoon/evening when it's not crowded and just disappear for a couple of hours. even after katie leaves, i may have to continue tuesdays at tower--maybe with a new movie buddy, maybe solo.

summer vacation

every day when mike gets home from work he asks me how my summer vacation is going. maybe it's because i'm usually on the couch watching tv or a flix in shorts and a t-shirt and flip flops. or maybe it's because i'm back in the pool every day and even though i'm wearing spf 45 (i swear!) i'm still getting a tan. either way, i love summer vacation. expect for the hot nights--the night's when it's so hot i can't sleep and flynn is annoying all night because he can't sleep.

tonight i'm escaping the heat for a while to go to a movie with k.t. since she's working full time and spending weekends with her man, we decided to do a movie night every week so we can hang out and see each other before she goes to europe for the rest of the summer. so until then, we'll be hitting tower to see all the "artsy" movies i've had in my flix queue forever. tonight is friends with money. hope it's good!

does cane equal able?

my pt gave me a choice: crutches, a walker or a cane. kind of a no-brainer if you ask me, so i now have a cane, just like my dad. mike has been loving it, grabbing the cane whenever i'm not using it and hobbling around the house stooped over like an old man. although the cane isn't great news, the therapist did say he thinks that i over-stretched my tendons/ligaments and won't need surgery and that it should "scar up and heal nicely" in 12-16 weeks. which will give me just enough time to get some progressively longer walks in before our trip. and mike and i have agreed that it's probably best if i stay off my bike and don't run until after we get back, just in case. i have been cleared to swim, as well as use the bike at the gym to try to pump the fluid out of my knee, although i can't even do one revolution so i just keep swinging my leg up and back like an idiot. but i think i will be able to make a turn soon, i can feel it. and i'm trying swimming today, after i slather myself with spf 45, that is. but the big bummer is no race for the cure this weekend, because i'm not supposed to walk for exercise yet. i guess we'll just have to watch it on tv...

round two

so i have to go to kaiser for pt this afternoon, and i do get an mri, but they can't get me in until the 21st. i'm just hoping that pt can give me some sort of knee brace so i can get off my fat ass and start working out again. i feel like crap, and when i was weighed at the doctor's office yesterday, it was the most i have ever weighed in my entire life. and i'm not happy about it.

as for my nose, the spot peeled off, and now it's back to brown. i got some fade cream prescription stuff at the derm to help get rid of all my sun damage, so hopefully between that and my new sunscreen vigilance, i can ward off any damage i may have done in my life.

i had my first interview for my new client yesterday, and it went great. thanks to working for the concrete guy for years now, i have this thing down pat. but i do like learning about a new industry (wood decks). at least i won't get bored for about a year or so.

tomorrow kt and i are going to bali to celebrate her being home and finishing her third year of architecture school at usc. can't wait to see her and catch up and hear about her plans for six weeks abroad this summer. and i'm meeting my old running buddy diane at cvc for tea to hear about her latest marathon in tahoe. which i'm sure will give me running jealousy.

wacky week

i can't believe that a week ago i was just getting home from the er. then i "hosted" all week, and topped it off with a skin cancer scare. at least the week is now over. i'm waiting for mike to get home from work so we can go grab huge salads at jack's for dinner and watch the office and chill tonight. and i have a no-work weekend because i haven't received any of my assignments yet, so i may meet a friend for coffee and read a lot. i'm bummed that i can't get back to the gym yet, and i am definitely going back to the doc next week for me knee, but the weather is beeeeuuuutiful, and i have two flix to watch and shows on the dvr, so it's all good.

i swear

from now on, i'm going to be obsessive about sunscreen. i went to the derm yesterday and had a pre-cancer spot removed from the bridge of my nose. yes, i love the sun, but no, i'm not going to go through breast cancer only to die of skin cancer. fuck no!

crapola

i am so sick. really. like barking like a seal coughing, headache and stuffy head. i don't know how mike is able to sleep in the same bed because i hack all night long. so i'm off to target to buy medicine that will knock me out at night and make me feel better during the day. at least i'm not thinking about my knee.

sick and tired

i caught a cold in the er. the nurse that gave me tylenol was sniffly and coughing, so i blame him. or maybe it's mike's fault, since he's the reason i slipped in the first place?