lucy.

for the past five days i've been on vacation in sunny florida (post coming soon) which means i have been away from the creature (pictured above) i call lucy. she was on a mini vacation herself, staying with my ex who used to be her master as well. for a brief second i even forgot about her as i found myself caught up with the excitement of a new place. but soon enough she popped into my mind and i began to miss her like crazy. it's just weird not seeing her every day. i came to realize how much i love the thing and just how much happiness she brings to my every day life. the excitement she shows when i walk in the door is enough to put a smile on my face even on the worst of days. 

so for the couple days i've been saying how i cannot wait to see her when i get back to minnesota. that i miss her so so much. i texted her babysitter when i landed (in the 50 degree minnesota tundra) to see if he could meet for me to pick her up. he was at the lake fishing, hoped he could keep her a little longer as he hadn't seen her for so long and wants a couple more days with her. fine. tomorrow i will see her... at 11:23 pm i missed a call. texted back saying sorry i missed the call and i'll call in the morning to arrange when to meet. immediately the phone rings back. "i can't find lucy." is what i heard on the other end of the line. "what do you mean you can't find lucy?!?!?!? where is she!?" (you've got to be f*cking kidding me). he doesn't know where she is, that is why he can't find her. (attitude now?) she'd been gone for two hours. she never runs away. by this time i've got tears rolling down my face, thinking the worst. she's gone and i'm never going to see her again. and if i do see her, i'll be picking her up to bring her somewhere to bury her. how am i suppose to do that??? in my sadness i think "she's a dog, just a dog." (and that is what many people would say..) but she is not just a dog. she means the world to me. to me, she is my baby. how could he let this happen!? the one person i trusted to care for her in every way. he called the police department to give them a description in case someone reports a stray dog. (she isn't wearing a collar or a name tag) he calls friends to come help him look after looking for two hours himself. i'm over an hour away and it's midnight so i feel helpless. he says he'll call me in the morning. so for the next hour i am heartbroken. how am i suppose to sleep? then my phone rings at 1 am. he tells me he brought his sleeping bag outside to sleep there all night in case she comes back. two of his friends arrive.. matt calls her name once and suddenly she is bounding over the sleeping bag across the yard.

she came back.

i have never ever ever felt more relieved in my life. i wished i could drive there right then to get her, but am still waiting to see the runaway hound. and now it's going to be even better than i anticipated before...

my first 5k.

last weekend, i successfully completed my first official race.

the fargo marathon's 5k.

it was exciting. we were up at 5:45 am to get to the fargodome by 7:00. there were thousands of people and because of the people, the race was off the a slow start. we had to weave around the walkers who thought it was a good idea to start in front of the runners and stand in a long line forming a barricade for those who actually wanted to run. so we ran on the sidewalk until told not to. saw subway "jared" cheering along the sidelines. rolled my ankle but didn't realize it hurt until the day after. i became extremely tired.. cory told me we were more than half done. so i kept pushing it telling myself i'd be a loser if i walked at all. we came to a friendly bunch of people who held out glasses of water on the side, so i grabbed one only to spill blue powerade down my shirt. guess it wasn't water. the fargodome was in sight! still had to weave around some people. just stepping up onto the curb to get around about killed me. a chick in front of cory and i kept turning around making "the face one shouldn't make very often". cory kept commenting on it because i always make fun of him when he makes the "face". after her third time cranking her head around cory said "i think hers is permanent!". laughing killed me a little bit more. after awhile longer, we were finally running into the dome towards the finish line. i heard my relatives cheering me on, giving me my last kick to the end. then we waited in line where we got our chips cut off our shoes and were given our medals. there were bins of bananas, begal bites, nutter butters, water, and god knows what else. i attempted to eat a banana and a begal bite but nearly vomited. then after a few minutes i started feeling like a million bucks... happy to have just run a 5k, and it was only 9:00 in the morning. 

i think i'll do it again.

the sky on our drive to fargo.

marathon route map.

(the 5k probably covered an inch in that map..)

core (my trainer & motivation) and i.

we came in at 28 minutes & 38 seconds!

didn't walk once.

hadn't run in 3 weeks.

so i was proud.

two of my other 5k running buddies.

bff beth & cousin meghan.

elli, the super cute german shorthair that reminded me of lucy.

sister erin at mile eight of the half.

she makes is look like a leisurely jog.

i was not smiling at mile two.

a sprint to the finish line.

way to go sis!

my sis and i after our races.

erin's medal for the half.

my medal for the 5k.

football & flowers.

pink roses.

i came home to these yesterday.

(more photos to come)

just getting by.

A while back I went to the dentist. Not because I hadn't been there for years (whoops!), but because i could feel one of my wisdom teeth coming through. Two appointments later I was told by the kind tooth doctor that I would need four (FOUR??) crowns. (...uhh thought crowns were for old people.. what? And I thought I was coming in here for my wisdom teeth!!) Oh, but I'd also need all four (FOUR AGAIN??) wisdom teeth extracted sooner than later. Aside from pain and swollen chipmunk cheeks, these needed procedures will only set me back $1,177.50. I take that back, just the crowns will only set me back one-thousand, one-hundred and seventy-seven dollars and fifty cents.. and that is AFTER my insurance covers it's part. I'm sure the wisdom teeth extraction will be no less than a couple grand as well. Too bad insurance typically doesn't cover any of this. So, how on earth is a 25-year old unmarried chick like myself suppose to pay for this? Perhaps I am doing something wrong and should have a few grand laying around for random inconveniences such as this? If I didn't have the 37 other bills to be paid each month, then maybe I would! And if I hated having fun time and enjoying myself once in a while, maybe I would. But RATS! I like shopping, I like shoes and clothes, and I like eating sushi as much as possible! I guess if I can still have the luxuries I actually do have in my life, it is worth just getting by. At least I can pay my bills, live in a nice place, and buy what I need to live in a way that is acceptable to me. I'd be thrilled if I didn't have to worry about every dollar, but if doing this for even a few more years means that someday it might be easier (lets hope!), then so be it. Until then, I will work... and continue to believe that I'll win the powerball (because my chances are so damn good) or be chosen to be on Deal or No Deal! I'm afraid the crowns will be needed and wisdom teeth removed before either of these things will come true.. 

vintage-looking photos.

A new twist on photography.

australia.

cory & i

my baby lucy.

someone else's baby.

solway lass in australia.

saint paul.

Since I don't always know what to write about, I figured I'd just write about my regular life from time to time.

Beth & Rachel came to visit!! The three of us lived together for a year so it was like a mini roomie reunion!

Beth & Shawn

We went out to eat at Bonfire on Grand Ave.

They will be moving down this way in August/September and I cannot wait!!

Core & I

Saturday we ate at Kahns, went to a friend's baseball game and then to Billy's on Grand Ave. for awhile.

(I'm thinking we should just live in St. Paul considering we drive there every day!)

Sunday.. you guessed it.. St. Paul. :)

A car wash at the Downtowner, PetSmart in search of a Kong frisbee (they are the best frisbees for dogs!), 

and Kowalski's for sushi ingredients.

Then to Wisconsin to meet up with some of Cory's riding buddies.

Can't remember the name of the town, but the bar was called Nauti Hawg!

A picture of us that isn't a headshot for once!

 

eclectic-ness.

Today on my lunch break I took random photos of things I am surrounded by in my ultra-hip office...

my tasty lunch. 

love the packaging.

"a" is for ami.

again.

an office with red chili lights. 

(toldya, ultra-hip)

a card from my one-&-only sis.

"she just had this way of brightening the day."

(thanks sis!!)

and a magnet from her as well.

"the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. they must be felt with the heart." 

-helen keller

my laptop and wireless keyboard.

my eraser.

shit.