Not Cheating

Last week the focus was Fenway and my sad excuse for a blog post. This time I am once again putting up a bunch of pet fotos. This time it is Cat. Unlike Fenway, Cat has the run of the house when we go out so you would expect her to get up to mischief and ruin things. But she is a good girl and spends most of her time sleeping. It is actually when we are at home that things get a little strange. After I got home from work last Wednesday I was watching TV and Caroline called me to meet her and some friends for dinner. I walked into the bedroom to change and discovered Cat in the bathroom.

Additionally I find that when Caroline goes to bed Cat will go with her and the only place she likes to sleep is on my side of the bed.
(Disclaimer the pretty girls in this fotos did not authorise its publication and do not in any way endorse the content of this postt)

Then on Thursday I had taken Fenway out for his walk and returned to to the house. I had to put Fenway back in his crate which he never likes. His preferred method of escaping this is to run into the bedroom looking for Caroline or to chase cat around the house. Of course if I get him a bone he will gladly run straight into the crate, but only if he hears the box or sees the bone beforehand. When I led him into the study this was what greeted us.





And I believe Fenway's reaction was "WTF mate!"

(Note the box of bones permenantly housed on top of the crate for easy access. They are an essential tool for luring puppies into the crate)

Cheating

I know I am supposed to write something more than this, but both Caroline and I are sickly and tired. So instead I offer these fotos and video of Fenway I took using my mobile at Caroline's parents house.

Birthday blog

Seeing Stewart work so hard on the blog has made me feel guilty…so I write yet another entry (only my 2nd?). This was actually an exciting week for me because it was my 31st birthday. Woo. (sense the excitement…) Actually I’m not at all worried about being 31 because I’m in a really good place right now with my life. I have a husband with whom I couldn’t be more in love with if I tried, and a job that makes me very happy. My friends and family are all happy and healthy so things are good.

That said, I had a great birthday as well. My actual birthday was on Saturday, which was nice. Saturday I woke Stewart up early to make him give me my present. (He had talked it up all week…)

Let me interject here that Stewart is the BEST present giver in the world. Ever since we first met way back in 2001, he has always given very thoughtful, and appropriate gifts. For example: When we first met, I was OBSESSED with Lance Bass from *NSync. Apparently I was the LAST to know he was gay, but oh well. The very first present Stewart ever gave me (other than mix tapes) was the Lance Bass “Barbie” doll. Oh yes. Stewart actually went into a store and PURCHASED this item for me. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVED it, but that’s how far he’s willing to go! Example #2: One of my favorite books of all time is A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Stewart and I never really talked about this, but I had mentioned it once, and he LISTENS! For my birthday one year he was living abroad but saw that Dave Eggers was there signing his new book. He went, waited in line, and got me a PERSONALLY autographed copy of the book. See? Thoughtful and amazing. Last year Stewart set the bar VERY high for himself for my 30th. The Amazing Race is my all-time favorite show. Accordingly, Stewart set up a WHOLE day-long amazing race for me. It came with clues, challenges, obstacles and surprises. Suffice to say it was the best day, but knowing how much time, thought and care went into planning it made it even better. Trust me, Stewart has gift giving down to a science.

So this year, as usually, he nailed it. I love the show True Blood on HBO, and had casually mentioned that I was dying to read the books that the show is based on. Well, Stewart went and bought me the whole box set. He just that good. It must run in the family, however. Stew’s parents not only sent me an AWESOME gift, but got it to me, from Australia, with weeks to spare!!! I also got a text from my in-laws, and a call from my brother-in-law from Australia to wish me a happy birthday in person. It totally made me day J I have the best family.

After gift giving I got birthday breakfast at my favorite breakfast place the Metro Diner. Then we lounged around the house as I proceeded to read almost the entire first book of my new series. Then I had to play tennis, which I love. I was supposed to take bananas to the match but ran out of time (that book is a page turner), so Stewart volunteered to bring them up to the match. We were about to start when he showed up – so everyone from both teams was standing there. He handed me the bananas and announced, “You all know it’s her birthday today, right?” So of course people proceeded by making a big deal out of it, and then I won my match. All was well.

Tennis was followed by a brief bit of shopping (a new $40 dress to wear to dinner), followed by dinner at my all-time favorite restaurant Ruth’s Chris, followed by a grown-up cocktail at Bistro-Aix and then home to bed, as I was exhausted. A great day.

Caroline's Birthday

I will let Caroline write about her birthday, presents and crazy activities. I would like to comment on my other New Year’s Resolution which started in earnest on Monday. I have decided that I need to get back into shape and now is the time. I started by running on Monday and Wednesday, riding the stationary bike Tuesday and riding my mountain bike today. I know it is a long way from a serious fitness regime, but it is a good start. I have a couple of goals I am working towards.

First is the Gate River Run in March. Held yearly in Jacksonville, it is a 15km (10 mile for anyone who wants the conversion) road race through the town. This year will be my fourth time running it. I am trying to train somewhat beforehand as I have not done this in the past. I am also trying to lower my expectations as far as results go. I have managed to finish in about an hour and half each time and considering I am not training that is a decent time. However I always think I can do better when I cross the finish line. This year my goal is to finish in 1:30 and not to get trapped at the start. I guess running with the cross country club in Geelong I got use to one or two person starts so the mass slow start frustrates me and causes part of the problem. It is impressive that at least once a year 10,000 odd people are willing to run 15km though.

My second goal was to try and complete the Xterra First Coast triathlon held at Hanna Park. After I got my bike I went out to Hanna Park and rode around on some of the trails that were part of the course from last year and was feeling pretty good about it. That was also part of the reason I am incorporating riding into my get fit program. However I just tried to look it up to find out the exact date and discovered it is not on the schedule for this year. In fact the only two triathlons that are part of that series are being held in South Florida which I feel is too far to travel for a first attempt. So I will continue with my bike riding, but I don't have a goal to work towards.

Superbowl Sunday

I blame the Superbowl for making this entry late. Not specifically the game, but the fact that we went over to Meg and Jon's to watch it. It was not their fault, I had a fun time even if Pittsburgh won eventually. I just didn't have any time to type anything. That is all I care to say about the day and game.
I did get some great news on Saturday. An envelope arrived from the University of Florida and i opened it straight away even though I was walking Fenway. It was an invitation to an interview in April. According to the letter if I am accepted i will be studying at the Jacksonville campus which was my first choice. I immediately called Caroline and she was super excited. I also shared the news with everyone at work today and they were very congratulatory and had advice about the interview and pharmacy school. Listening to them talk about resident applicants and job applicants and how they performed in pharmacy school and their attitude, makes me realise that getting in is only half of the battle and I need to study hard and perform at a high level for the entire time I am back in school in order to possibly get a Shands residency or a position in the Ambulatory Pharmacy.