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our first baby Benjamin James 11 lbs 7 oz Born: 12/15 |
| carrieann on twitter |
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since i mowed the lawn yesterday, i figured it would be nice to take a photo of my efforts... so here is where i get to play with lily... and where she finds ample bushes and flowers to eat :) yes, this yard takes me about an hour and a half to mow... it's freakin huge...
| posted at 11:09 PM ~ comments (0) |
it was such a nice day outside today, it was the perfect time to snap some more photos of lily :) don't mind the shaved stomach, and shaved right arm... they're leftovers from her tests at the U of I...
| posted at 7:54 PM ~ comments (0) |
it was a two-cups-of-coffee-day today, so i was worried it wasn't going to be that great. but despite me freezing, today is going pretty well. i started running again... and my shins and my knees hurt a little... and i got a little cramp in my calf... but after i stopped to stretch it a little, and got a little farther, it went away :) only jogged for 1.3 miles... but it's a start! little by little i'll add distance and time... and hopefully it will whip me into shape. i've heard about drinking green tea as a heathly drink... anyone know where i can get some that won't taste like ass? might be more fun than drinking coffee in the morning... or might be a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon... hmmm...
training class is tonight. i've been slacking with lily this week, since she felt like crap for half the time from her tests... so hopefully lisa will forgive me :) lily is feeling better... but her problem still exists, so it's only a matter of time before she gets sick again. now if i could win the lotto, she'd be all set... *sigh*... sorry lily. i bet she doesn't mind eating peanut butter three times a day to take her pills though ;)
training class is tonight. i've been slacking with lily this week, since she felt like crap for half the time from her tests... so hopefully lisa will forgive me :) lily is feeling better... but her problem still exists, so it's only a matter of time before she gets sick again. now if i could win the lotto, she'd be all set... *sigh*... sorry lily. i bet she doesn't mind eating peanut butter three times a day to take her pills though ;)
| posted at 3:20 PM ~ comments (0) |
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dammit. this is a new one. i've been getting flooded all day with bounced messages... but i think these are real ones. only i didn't send the original message out. so i think someone is using my email as their spamming "return" email. crap. the only way i know of to get rid of that, is to turn off that email address. how those fuckers got it, i'll never know, but that's out of hand. i've gotten over a hundred already, and it's only 7pm. *sigh* may you burn in hell, spammers.
| posted at 7:57 PM ~ comments (0) |
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poor lily. she's had a rough two days. but now she's back home... and in a day or two, she'll be back to normal. i'll spare everyone the details, but they found out the reason she gets frequent infections, and to correct it will require surgery. they also won't be able to combine that surgery with her spay surgery... so both of those will be another couple hundred dollars, if not over a thousand. i'll get that estimate next week, and decide when i can afford to put her through that :(
but it's good to know the reason now... and if i can't afford the surgery right away, it's not life or death. she'll just continue to need to fight off the infections for longer than i'd like... and that's never good. *sigh* but i'm glad to have her home :)
but it's good to know the reason now... and if i can't afford the surgery right away, it's not life or death. she'll just continue to need to fight off the infections for longer than i'd like... and that's never good. *sigh* but i'm glad to have her home :)
| posted at 7:29 PM ~ comments (0) |
got a call back from the vet, and they haven't found anything with lily so far. which is good... even if it costs an arm and a leg to find out she's healthy and normal, at least she'll be ok! but because they have to now do more testing, the price has risen to an estimate of at least $600 upwards to $1100. *sigh* the vet is guessing it will be around $1000. doh. so the tally is now up to $1500 that i've spent on her, just for tests for this. warning to all future dog owners: these babies are expensive! but she's worth it... a thousand times over :) she's still at the vet's... poor girl had to stay the night last night, and possibly tonight. is it ridiculous to miss your dog? well, ridiculous or not... i do :( and thanks again for all your help... i really do appreciate it!
anyway, i was up late working again, but made it to bed by midnight, so that's an improvement. i think my body thanked me :) still got a ton to do today... it never ends! tomorrow is the company picnic, so i'm sure that will be a fun time. it's also the sweetcorn festival in urbana this weekend... lookin forward to some sweet buttery corn. i'm betting lily will love it :)
anyway, i was up late working again, but made it to bed by midnight, so that's an improvement. i think my body thanked me :) still got a ton to do today... it never ends! tomorrow is the company picnic, so i'm sure that will be a fun time. it's also the sweetcorn festival in urbana this weekend... lookin forward to some sweet buttery corn. i'm betting lily will love it :)
| posted at 7:35 AM ~ comments (0) |
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today has been crazy. i've been up til 4am last night and the night before... so not a whole lot of sleeping going on. but i'm working, so at least i'm being productive with my lack of sleep. lily had her appointment at the vet today... she's still there undergoing some tests. i had to put down a $300 deposit, and they estimated up to $600, but it could still go more... but at least we're on our way to figuring out what her problem is. so your help is still very much appreciated. i have two meetings today at work... and i have still yet to find time to run down to the weight room to exercise. might do it after work, if lily is still tied up at the vet's. gotta get it in somehow! i'll be up late again tonight working, and probably for the rest of the weekend. but i plan on sleeping in on saturday... so i'll make up for it eventually :) so much to do, so much to do...
| posted at 4:12 PM ~ comments (0) |
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bed late, up early. got a little bit done, but still workin hard to finish it all. i have my review at work tomorrow, and i also have a bigger project that is due next week. it's already wednesday, thank goodness! i hope today goes by fast. i've been exercising faithfully for the past month, and i was down 5 lbs... but then jackie's wedding and last saturday didn't help matters... so now i'm back up a lb and a half... but i'll get there :) give me another two months (i gave myself 90 days to do it)... and hopefully the results will make me proud :) i have taken a break from running last week and this week, to rest my knees and my calves... so i'm rared to start running again! there aren't many nice days left in the season... but fall is my favorite season, so i'll really enjoy running outside starting next week :)
| posted at 7:22 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well, i'm in a better mood this morning. however, i couldn't sleep last night, and tossed and turned fitfully all night long. so i'm pretty sleepy... and a little out of it. could explain why i'm in a better mood. lily did ok on her pre-test... she has started the fun game of pulling on leash and not focusing her attention where it belongs... but that's what happens when you've used food as a lure, and then try and get her attention without it. one glance that i don't have a treat, and good luck getting her focus back. *sigh* smart dog ;) anyway, i'm still busier than hell, but not finding time to fit it all in. that ups the stress level some... in addition to lily's appointments this week, and other work drama. just shoot me...
| posted at 8:32 AM ~ comments (0) |
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damn i hate mondays. i want this week to be done already... so much crap i have to do. i'm in a pissed off mood this morning, and i'm not looking forward to anything that i need to do. can someone please fast forward time... i'm done with today...
| posted at 11:51 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i need more single friends, apparently. my interpretation of a night out didn't include being home by 9:30. but it's not the fault of my friends that they have families at home. dinner was a lot of fun... but i was sad to see everyone else so tired so early. this weekend is the annual company picnic... the food should be good :) other than that, no plans. a huge, huge, HUGE thank you to those of you that have donated for lily. you have no idea how much your contributions help out. especially from you! that was really unexpected! i find out tomorrow an estimate from purdue... and then i'm going to call U of I to get their estimate. then she'll be off to do some tests... next week i'll hopefully know what is going on. til then, she's doin great... she has her preliminary test tomorrow for her cgc... i think she'll pass with flying colors :)
| posted at 8:12 PM ~ comments (0) |
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well, second opinion confirms lily needs to see a specialist. so it's off to the university we go. *sigh* so i'll find out the damages next week... but i'm preparing to fork over another couple hundred dollars. want to help? click the 'lily fund' on the right... anything would help. poor girl... wish she could be a healthy, normal puppy...
| posted at 12:42 AM ~ comments (0) |
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hallelujah, it's friday. i get to sleep in tomorrow, and then party with the lady friends :) should be a good weekend... busy, but good. i called the vet clinic at purdue (where my vet recommended me to go)... and lily's workup could cost around $800. holy frijoles... that's a lot of money. i'm hoping they can use a lot of the results from her last workup (that cost me $500)... otherwise, i'm gonna be broke as a joke. $1300 in a month just for tests for the dog pretty much wipes me out. and that's not even treating lily... that's just to diagnose her. which means i would have no money in the near future to afford to relocate. maybe it's god's way of saying i need to stay put. *sigh* always issues with the money. anyway, i'm not going to worry about it until i hear back on monday what the final estimate is... i've got a bajillion other things to worry about in the meantime. but it's friday... work is almost done... and i'm outta here :)
| posted at 4:48 PM ~ comments (0) |
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well, tonight is our monthly ecicfug meeting... basically just an excuse for my fellow coworkers and i to hang out and eat free pizza :) saturday i'm goin out with lisa... she claims she needs a girl's night out... so i'm there! :) lily has another infection, so my vet clinic wants me to see a specialist about it... *sigh* poor dog. and my poor pocket book. the specialist may need to go in surgically to figure out what the deal is... but i'm getting another opinion before i start putting her under the knife. it sounds drastic, for something so small. in other news, i am now narrowing down the potential places to move... so far washington d.c. is looking to be my home in the near future. but we'll see... nothing is planned yet. still thinking about it... and now that the dog is sick again, who knows if i can afford it. but after looking into the area, and talking with my friends out there... it sounds like the exact kind of place i'd love to live. but we'll see... i'm still speculating at the moment...
| posted at 4:54 PM ~ comments (0) |
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here are the photos of craig and jackie's wedding! it took forever to organize that many photos... but there they are! phew... need to learn to not snap photos of everything ;)
me in my bridesmaid dress...
me in my bridesmaid dress...
| posted at 1:41 AM ~ comments (0) |
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no more dog park for lily for a while. we need to practice her obedience lessons... and it is damn near impossible to reinforce there. she just goes crazy, jumping on people, adults and kids. and every time she is allowed to do that, it sets the training back. so i got a couple of recommendations on parks in the area... we'll be touring champaign-urbana :) the students are coming back either this week or next week also... so walking up to the union (or the 'quad' as it's called at u of i) will help find more people :)
other than that, no plans this week. still catching up on work, and cleaning house. no matter how clean i keep it, there is always more animal hair lurking :) that and the lawn needs to get mowed... ah, living in a house is such fun...
other than that, no plans this week. still catching up on work, and cleaning house. no matter how clean i keep it, there is always more animal hair lurking :) that and the lawn needs to get mowed... ah, living in a house is such fun...
| posted at 8:47 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i think i may have to cool it with the running for a bit. a week at least. i tried to run today... and just after the two mile mark, i had a slight, sharp, stinging pain just under my right calf... and i wound up having to walk the rest of the way home. it's still really sore... so i think i'm just doing too much too fast. so i'm gonna have to bike it for a while, and just do some walking for the next week... then start over at running just two miles. little by little, i'll work up to running farther. what sucks is that i'm cardiovascularly ready to run that far... i was barely starting to breathe hard when i felt my legs sting. so i always feel like i can go much farther... but my legs are just not ready. so biking it is... but i don't want to overdo it on the bike either... *sigh*... i need to find another low-impact activity that really burns calories... i wonder if the elliptical machine would work? hmmm.... too bad i didn't know of a pool around here... swimming would be wonderful...
| posted at 10:30 PM ~ comments (0) |
the wedding was fantastic. everything went smoothly (the day of) and it seemed as though everyone had a great time. i ate a ton of food... but now i'm back to my eating/fitness routine. a short setback, but it was worth it :) now that the wedding is over, i don't have any new countdowns. vinnie and sarah announced their wedding date: january 21st... so in another five months, there will be another big wedding... so that should be fun. but as far as trips are concerned, my next one isn't scheduled until thanksgiving. so i'll have to figure out ways to entertain myself for the next three months. i'm thinking i'll find trails and lakes to take lily to... we'll see.
i'll post the wedding photos later tonight, after lily's training class. after the ceremony, i got a 'memory card full' message... i had filled up a 256mb card before we even got to the reception! oops :) but luckily, i was able to download the photos off the camera and burn them to cd... so there are quite a few! everyone had a camera, it seemed, so i'm hoping everyone shares theirs. oh well, it was fun... i had a great time :)
i'll post the wedding photos later tonight, after lily's training class. after the ceremony, i got a 'memory card full' message... i had filled up a 256mb card before we even got to the reception! oops :) but luckily, i was able to download the photos off the camera and burn them to cd... so there are quite a few! everyone had a camera, it seemed, so i'm hoping everyone shares theirs. oh well, it was fun... i had a great time :)
| posted at 9:10 AM ~ comments (0) |
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it's finally here! the big wedding... i'm leaving after work to travel to michigan, and when i come back, there will be a mr. and mrs. craig and jaclyn sommerville :) i didn't get to see any meteors last night... i was too close to the city, and it was too cold to stand outside for very long. oh well... long drive tonight... and a busy weekend. rehearsal dinner tomorrow and a bunch of errands to run, wedding saturday, and then the drive back sunday. it will be a great time. i'll take lots of photos... need to figure out how to get the hang of taking non-blurry photos with low lights... woohoo... no work for me tomorrow! :)
| posted at 9:16 AM ~ comments (0) |
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thanks for reminding me, john... i totally forgot the fact that the perseid meteor shower is tonight. we are supposed to have partly cloudy skies, but i still may jet outside for a bit to see if i can catch any. it's also supposed to be in the 40's... not the most ideal temperature to be lounging around outside. but they are still fun to watch, so if you have a way, i'd make an effort to stay up tonight to catch them.
i'm exhausted this morning... poor puppy wasn't feeling well, and had me up at 4:30 this morning... about an hour and a half earlier than i'm used to getting up. so i'm feelin groggy... and a little grumpy. oh well... i leave tomorrow for michigan... 3 more days to the wedding!
i'm exhausted this morning... poor puppy wasn't feeling well, and had me up at 4:30 this morning... about an hour and a half earlier than i'm used to getting up. so i'm feelin groggy... and a little grumpy. oh well... i leave tomorrow for michigan... 3 more days to the wedding!
| posted at 8:32 AM ~ comments (0) |
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poor lily. we had to cut our time at the park short today, since people are crazy with bringing their kids. maybe i'm just paranoid, but i would never bring my six year old up to a park where 15 dogs are running around like crazy, where they have been known to knock over adults... especially when some of them are well over 100 lb dogs. so of course when lily spotted the little boy, she ran over and jumped on top of him, and almost knocked him flat... and then kept jumping up. his mom got really angry at me... and although i know she has an issue with kids getting her excited, it's not my fault you brought your kid to a dog park. but we left right away... and i really need to work with her on not getting so excited around small children. but there's only so much i can do... she's not even six months old yet, so her puppiness is still in full effect. *sigh* and it's not something she will grow out of for another year... jeez... poor dog.
| posted at 7:12 PM ~ comments (0) |
whew... rode the bike during lunch today. it's always rough for me to get all the way through it... but once i'm done, i feel awesome! it really gives me a ton of energy for the rest of the afternoon. i've heard good things about the elliptical machine here... so i may try that soon, when i get tired of the bike, or just to try something new. it's a great perk to have a workout facility on the job, that they let you use during work hours :) last night lily did great at class... she is a pro at walking on a leash on command... but we need to work on her "down stays". it's funny... she does it really well if there is a treat in front of her and i tell her "off!"... but if there is nothing there, it's like she doesn't get why she should stick around, when the food's all with me! oh well... we've got five weeks ;) i'm takin her up to the dog park tonight. we've become regulars there, and now she's got quite a few fans :)
| posted at 2:21 PM ~ comments (0) |
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hooray for four day work weeks... thursday night i'm headin on up to michigan for the last time this summer... the big wedding is this weekend. lots to get done beforehand... but once it's over, that's the last of my plans until the holidays. gonna have to find ways to entertain myself... the social committee is sponsoring some events coming up... we have our annual company picnic in about two weeks... plus our company tailgate in september. so i'm sure i'll think of things to do. i took some updated photos of the pup yesterday... she starts her big girl classes tonight, and if she passes at the end of six weeks, she gets her CGC. so she'll officially be ocean breeze water lily, CGC. fancy schmancy :) i'm sure we'll pass with flying colors. she is always the greatest during training classes... it's the rest of the time i have trouble with :)
alright, it's monday, which means lots to finish up. work is crazy, as usual... is it thursday yet?
alright, it's monday, which means lots to finish up. work is crazy, as usual... is it thursday yet?
| posted at 10:36 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i got a new comforter about a month back... decided it was time to ditch the blue, and got a down comforter with a green cover:
my room is not very big, but it's right off the living room, with only the folding doors as a barrier... so i don't really need a whole lot of room :)
i also took the time to post jackie's and craig's joint bachelor/bachelorette party photos... so beware of the blurriness... but here they are :)
my room is not very big, but it's right off the living room, with only the folding doors as a barrier... so i don't really need a whole lot of room :)
i also took the time to post jackie's and craig's joint bachelor/bachelorette party photos... so beware of the blurriness... but here they are :)
| posted at 8:36 PM ~ comments (0) |
so i took a relaxing day, knowing the next week is going to be uber-busy. i cleaned up my house, and i'm finishing up the laundry... lily is passed out after having run for two hours with a bunch of puppies at the dog park :) man, that place is a life saver! she did scare the bejesus out of two kids on friday... made one girl cry... oops. why you bring little kids to a park full of crazy dogs, i'll never know... but i still felt really bad, and proceeded to leave the park. she just wanted to play... but when you have a crazy (big) puppy jumping at your face... it can be kinda scary.
anyway, i'm leaving for michigan on thursday night... i have the rehearsal and nails on friday... then the big day on saturday :) i've been keeping up with my running... and have lost 3 lbs in the past week and a half :) so that's always good... just in time to fit into a bridesmaid's dress :)
anyway, i'm leaving for michigan on thursday night... i have the rehearsal and nails on friday... then the big day on saturday :) i've been keeping up with my running... and have lost 3 lbs in the past week and a half :) so that's always good... just in time to fit into a bridesmaid's dress :)
| posted at 7:31 PM ~ comments (0) |
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man today was gorgeous outside. i took the pup out to the dog park for two hours... and she got nice and dirty :) i needed to get some activity in, so to give my knees a rest, i went into work and rode the bike. i then came back, mowed the lawn, and gave her a bath... now she's nice and shiny, and free of dog drool :) time to get down to work, and finish what i was working on... time to get down to business...
| posted at 8:29 PM ~ comments (0) |
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it's a great friday so far :) my knees don't hurt anymore... whatever i did on the bike yesterday helped a ton! i don't know why that would help my knees... but afterwards, the pain was gone, and i felt great the rest of the day. so i'm gonna try a run tonight... wish me luck ;) i've got a ton of things to get done this weekend. but i'm still glad it's the weekend. a short week next week... and then the wedding. one week from tomorrow and it'll be mrs. jaclyn sommerville. crazy! still trying to figure out what i should do with the dog during all the commotion. i need to bring her so that jackie's aunt (from massachusetts) can see her (since she helped me get her)... so boarding her is out of the question... and everyone else that i'd be willing to ask to watch her will be at the wedding. doh. and i can't watch her, cause she'll just chew the hell out of my dress. hmmm... we'll see. it's friday! ;)
| posted at 8:51 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well, i may have overdone it a little... either that, or there is something wrong with the way i'm running. my knees are very sore... more so my right than my left. it stings in my kneecap to jog, and to go down stairs. so today i'm going to attempt the bike instead of jogging/walking... we'll see if it's the impact that is killing my legs, or if it's overuse. we have a workout room in our building at work... so after lunch i'm gonna go hit the bike and see if i can withstand a workout. if i can, i may start a regimen of biking/running, swapping every other day. supposedly, that is a much better way of getting in shape... to vary the activities you do on opposite days. so we'll see. if it hurts still, i will take tomorrow off completely, and try a shorter jog on saturday... gradually working my way back up to the 4 miles i ran on monday and tuesday. lily, in the meantime, will just have to be satisfied with getting her exercise by playing and running with dogs at the dog park... which i'm sure she'll hate ;)
it's almost friday... almost the weekend. 9 days til the wedding! i took next friday off of work, to be in town for the rehearsal dinner, and to get my nails done, etc. so a four day work week will help next week :) but this weekend i have work to do... a lawn to mow... busy busy busy...
it's almost friday... almost the weekend. 9 days til the wedding! i took next friday off of work, to be in town for the rehearsal dinner, and to get my nails done, etc. so a four day work week will help next week :) but this weekend i have work to do... a lawn to mow... busy busy busy...
| posted at 11:25 AM ~ comments (0) |
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for those of you trying to lose weight... i highly, highly recommend writing down your food, or keeping a food journal. in weight watchers, you have to keep track of your points... but even if it is just writing down what it is, and not worrying about the calories or points, you will see patterns of when you are hungry... and for me, i had no idea how much food i was actually eating in a given day. it helped me cut way down on just the amount of food i consumed... which helped me lose weight more easily. even if i haven't been following the points... i still write down my food every day (or at least, 5 days out of the week). call me obsessive... or just plain crazy... it works for me :)
| posted at 11:34 AM ~ comments (0) |
man... between being busy at my main job, the side work i've taken on, training lily, and trying to get in better shape... i'm swamped! but i've never felt better. i managed to run another four miles last night... even though it was like 90 degrees. i wasn't overheated as much as i was just sore... my legs felt ok until i woke up this morning. oooo... those hamstrings. it's supposed to be hot again tonight, and it's supposed to rain... so i may be just doing a little jog. lily has her final class tonight... she gets tested on all her tricks! she knows: sit, down, stay, off, come (with a finish), paw (left and right depending on which hand you ask with), bang, crawl, bow, worm (weaves in and out of your legs on command), and stand. phew... it's a ton of tricks... and she doesn't know them all well... but we're getting there! next session (that starts next week and goes for another six weeks) she gets to earn her canine good citizen certification. that should be a fun class! after that, obediance classes are pretty much done... and i can sign her up for agility or a tricks class... so we'll see... i may find something for us to do together :) she's getting so big... over 45 lbs now... won't be long til she hits the 50 lb mark. i'll have to take some photos of her with her new toy that jackie got her... it's a perfect one, and she loves it :)
happy hump day! :)
happy hump day! :)
| posted at 11:24 AM ~ comments (0) |
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ouch. i ran for four miles yesterday (woohoo!) but now i'm paying for it. my legs are pretty sore. but despite the pain, i felt great doing it. it was too hot to drag lily for that far, so i took her to the dog park for an hour last night. she loves that place... and it really wore her out. so we both got a good work out :) i'm gonna run again today... but probably not so far. it looks as though our ice-cream day is going to be postponed again... but we'll see. still workin on some side projects... got a lot on my plate at the moment...
| posted at 9:27 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well the party on saturday was a success. and crazily enough... i have over 200 photos :) the majority, however, were not very good, since i got a little intoxicated as the night wore on... but i'll post the decent ones ;) we had a great time... and i wound up getting home at 4:30am. we started the night off at jackie's sister's house... pre-party wound up being quite a fun party in and of itself... so by the time we got to the karaoke bar... we were already rarin' to go :) i think everyone had a great time... it was great to see that even jamaicans can do karaoke if you provide them with enough alcohol ;) vince and craig doing milli vinilli made my night :) we wound up checkin out denny's after the bar... it was an early morning... and i can't wait til the wedding in less than two weeks!
this weekend, i have no plans... i know, i know... it's crazy... a free weekend. time to wind up all the side projects i've been working on. we get ice cream this tuesday, since it was postponed from friday... and work is gonna be busy this week. lots to do...
this weekend, i have no plans... i know, i know... it's crazy... a free weekend. time to wind up all the side projects i've been working on. we get ice cream this tuesday, since it was postponed from friday... and work is gonna be busy this week. lots to do...
| posted at 11:03 PM ~ comments (0) |