Not an ordinary, but extra-ordinary Christmas :)

I'm so glad my Dad sent me this picture yesterday of him & my Great Grandma Burgett :) She's 95 years old and still such a spit-fire!! 


I missed my family a lot on Christmas, but Chase & I had a very LONG Skype conversation with both his & my family while we opened our presents.
I got:
2 Starbucks Gift Cards
My favorite perfume- Pretty Hot by Elizabeth Arden
All 4 seasons of my favorite show: "The Big Bang Theory"
A pack of 4-Cutting boards with a plastic spatula
A queen size memory foam mattress topper along with a black satin sheet set
Money towards a pair of Triple Bailey Button Uggs (HOORAY!)
A book about how dogs think (with a picture of a Great Dane on the front!)
Homemade Chocolate/Candy covered marshmallows 
And a pack of gum :)

I did pretty well, dontcha think?!


Being a now 3 year tradition, Chase & I went to a movie on Christmas evening. I chose "Young Adult" because I love Charlize Theron & I thought the one movie trailer I saw for it looked funny...but this particular movie was not funny. It was AWFUL and DEPRESSING, actually. Don't waste your money, please!!

After seeing the depressing movie, we went home & finished the 2nd Season of "The Big Bang Theory" to lift our spirits :) We have the 4th Season left, after having already checked out seasons 1 & 3 from the King County Library. 

New Years Resolution

As women, we'll never be 100% with our looks...89% of the time.Whether it be our height, weight, hair color, eye color, nose shape, pore shape, or eyelash length. There are those few days when we get a new haircut, or wear a new outfit that makes us feel better than usual, but other than that- there's always going to be a found flaw when we look into that bathroom mirror (no matter how many times our significant other may compliment us.)


What's even worse is when women compliment other women on how they look when we don't really mean it! We simply want to point out a flaw in them making us feel better about OURSELVES. 
Don't deny it, it's something we've all done.


Getting me to my 2012 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION(S):


1) Take more Dance/Fitness Classes. Some of you may be wondering to yourselves, "What the hell?! She teaches all the time!!" True...but I would like to be a student in class, learning from someone else rather than being the teacher all of the time.
I live directly across from Westlake Dance Center and since moving here in September, I have NOT BEEN TO A SINGLE CLASS. Dancing makes me feel better about myself, especially when I'm not up on stage in front of a class.


2) Audition for the Sea Gals again, & make the team this time! I appreciated everyone's support last year via Facebook, but this year I'm not going to hype-it-up like I did last year. It was really painful to have to post that I didn't make it & while I love everyone who asked me WHY I didn't make it, I really had no clear answer for you because no clear answer was given at the Finals to those of us who didn't make it onto the team.


3) Find a hobby to do with Chase besides going out to eat & watching television!!


4) Stop pointing out my physical flaws to myself & others. My job as a Dance/Fitness Instructor is to create confidence in my students...if I'm focusing too much on MY flaws, how can they feel confident about themselves and achieving their goals? 

Thoughts

I only have a few minutes before I have to start getting ready to run some errands before a 4pm appointment, but I just need to get some thoughts out there:


No matter how bad things seem to get, they can ALWAYS be worse. 


Opportunities are flying my way to strengthen relationships with certain people, and I'll be damned if I don't do something about them. 


I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND...he's so ruggedly handsome & is looking more & more like WOLVERINE (aka-Hugh Jackman- YESSSSSS!) everyday :)


I've talked to my dad more in the past week than I did the entire year of 2010.


I can't effing believe Christmas is next week!! Looking forward to Skyping with Chase & I's families!






that is all :)

Living life backwards

I cannot believe I'm slacking...in the blog world, that is. Chase told me yesterday that I need to write more because I'm home enough to do it...very true. I teach around 12 fitness/dance classes per week. Other than that, I make Chase's breakfast, lunch, dinner, & do my best to keep our house & dog maintained. Apollo gets around an hour walk everyday if it's not raining. I'm a regular 50s housewife! (minus the whole -wife- part and I'm okay with that :) 


Leading me into my blog title:


My parents might be the only ones who aren't okay with my happy little lifestyle. They believe that you date for a year, then become engaged for 9-12 months, then get married. Shortly after, get a dog, then try for children...I mean, that's how it's done, right? Anytime my mother heard of anyone living their lives out of that order, she always told my sister (Gina) and I "They did it BACKWARDS." I knew what she meant, but that didn't mean that I necessarily agreed with it. Come to find out, neither does Gina. I got to Skype with her last weekend and we had a discussion about how she and I have chosen to live our lives "backwards" and for ourselves first. (At least in our mother's eyes.)


Gina is 26 years old, graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2008, and has a career in the Army where she is currently stationed in Afghanistan until next summer. I am 24 years old,  graduated from Peninsula College in 2007, and am (as stated above) teaching around 12 fitness/dance classes per week, working on my dream to become an NFL/NBA dancer, & hopefully own my own studio someday. Gina & I both have boyfriends with no plans for "marriage" in the near future. My Hellenistic self is living in sin with her boyfriend in Seattle. We have a great dog together, and I see nothing wrong with having children before "walking down the aisle". My vision is actually walking down the aisle towards my future husband who is holding onto my son/daughter. 


PLEASE NOTE: WE'RE NOT PLANNING ON HAVING CHILDREN ANYTIME SOON EITHER.


When MY mother was our age, she had been married for 3-5 years (depending on whose age you're more focused on) had a dog with her husband (our father) who she started living with in Dallas, TX only AFTER they got married, and was trying to have a baby, or already had a baby. (again, depending on whose age you're more focused on.) According to her, we're doing things BACKWARDS. I think she focused too much on instilling her views and opinions on Gina & I as children, that Gina & I are bound & determined to do things our way as much as possible. Even if it's viewed in our mother's eyes as backwards. 


I'm not saying my mom is WRONG for wanting Gina & I to follow in her footsteps. Not at all. I just think that labeling someone's life "backwards" is wrong. Everything happens for a reason, whether you choose for it to be that way, or if fate steps in & takes over. I wish my mom saw it differently, but she doesn't & that's okay. I've been dealing with her opinions for just as long as she's been dealing with mine!

Holiday Spirit and Dog Snatchers don't mix in my world

It's a few minutes before 8am, Apollo and I are sleepily occupying the dining room, and I can't believe its already December 1st...I've got candy cane socks on, our very different themed stockings are hung above the fireplace, and I've plugged in our Christmas tree to see if the lights make me feel anymore in the holiday spirit. This time last year, I was eagerly awaiting my trip home to Iowa to see family, the few friends from HS that I still have, and (of course) most of all- Chase. This year however, is a different story. Chase is here with me in Seattle and as some of you know, it sometimes takes more than a few months to become financially stable in a new city before you can do everything and go everywhere you want. In OCTOBER, plane tickets to fly from Seattle to DesMoines were $600-$700 on every travel website I found. Take that x2 plus boarding costs for Apollo, on top of Christmas present, & shipping costs :-( Back in 2008, I wasn't able to go home for Christmas and I spent Christmas Eve on the phone with my Dad crying about it...literally. This Christmas will be Chase & I's official 1 year anniversary! Hopefully we can think of something to do to get our minds off of not being home for the holidays. We plan to Skype with our families as we open our presents from them and they open theirs from us. Chase & I's presents to eachother are as follows:

#1- Main Awesomeness

#2- Something under $1.00

#3- Something the other can READ

#4- Something the other can EAT

#5- Something the other can WEAR

So far, I have #1. I'm about to go & wrap it as soon as I'm done here so we'll have at least one present under our $10 Goodwill tree :) Speaking of, I couldn't believe it was only $10!! Granted it's only 4 feet tall, but as you can see from the photos I will be attaching below, it's a good-lookin tree! I'm not sure what to get Apollo...I'm thinking a nice, huge dog bed so he'll stop taking up the entire couch!

Chase's car started acting up last Friday, so I've been taking him to/picking him up from work this past week meaning getting up at 7am as opposed to lying in bed while he gets up then going back to sleep after he leaves. Seattle traffic SUCKS. To go the 12 miles it takes to get to his work, it normally takes 40-45 minutes on I5 (as well as getting back). I've been bringing Apollo with me so we can stop at Greenlake Park and go for our 3mile walk early rather than around our neighborhood in the afternoons. I normally don't worry about Apollo if I tie his leash up outside a bathroom, or a Starbucks...but that has all changed since he almost got taken on Monday at Greenlake.
We were about halfway through our walk when I stopped at the only bathroom that is available on the trail around the lake. I tied his leash up to a railing, went in & as I was stepping out of the stall, heard him barking/growling. I know he doesn't become vocal unless he feels threatened, so I ran out to see what was wrong. Upon coming outside I heard someone say, "She's coming back..." and then saw an asian man about to unhook his leash. I said, "UHHHH, EXCUSE ME?! THAT'S MY DOG!" Then he backed up & started mumbling, "Oh, dis a Great Dane? He so beautiful..." I replied, "yes, he is. Can I help you?" To which he replied "no" then took off. Apollo was growling low the entire time & for the rest of the walk I had to process the fact that I can no longer leave my dog tied up outside a public place, for fear that someone will want to take him!! On Tuesday, I took him into Starbucks with me when we took our walk around U Village, & yesterday I took him into the bathroom stall with me when I used the restroom at Greenlake. (The handicapped stall, because lets face it...a regular stall would NOT be possible with both of us.)