A Wedding

One of my co-workers, Kelsey, got married on Saturday. I would have gone even if I hadn't lost over 20 pounds, but I was much more excited about dressing up since I have! Andrew came with me (and didn't even gripe too much about it!) and several other co-workers came too. We all had a really good time.

Prior to the wedding-the hair already wasn't curled...

Andrew being...well, Andrew.

The Bride and her dad (blurry, I know, but I didn't want to have the flash on)

The First Dance

Stephanie, Me, Julie, Kelsey and Shea

You know I've had a few drinks when you see me on a dance floor

Hmm...we didn't even get a good one of us together

It looks like my head is growing out of his shoulder

Down, down, down

I'm now down about 24 pounds! I've actually been in bit of a rut lately...or so I thought. But, I still lost a little over a pound over the past nine days. Considering I've been eating a bit more than usual, hopefully this means my metabolism has sped up from all the exercising. Faster metabolism equals Kerry gets to eat more. Yay!

Meet Jasper

Meet the newest addition to my family! Jasper is a (n approximately 2 month old) hamster that I adopted from the Kansas Humane Society. I went to the Splurge! party tonight; their goal is to adopt out 200 animals this weekend. Little ole Jasper counts! I knew I wanted another hamster even though the loss of little Tucker was very sad. I figured I would never buy a dog from anywhere other than a Shelter so why not adopt my hamster from a Shelter as well? He's currently getting used to his new home and is at this moment sleeping in a corner of his cage with no nest and not in his little shelter. I figure by tomorrow night he'll figure out he can actually make a nest. The Kansas Humane Society is in a contest to win a $100,000 grant. Go here to vote for us: votetosavelives.org. You have to enter your email address, but so far as I can tell you only have to do that to verify you're a real person. The only emails I've gotten is the one verifying your address and to remind you to vote. So, help the Kansas Humane Society become a no-kill shelter and vote so they can win the money. They're currently in second place!



Update: I just voted again (you can vote once a day) and KS is in first place now!!!

In Bailey's Opinion

Bailey has some pretty strong opinions about certain things. For instance, Dingos? Good.


Organic dog treats, Milkbones and most other dog treats? Not so good.


Getting her ears scratched? Heaven. Getting her floppy ears cleaned out? Very bad.


Being able to sleep on the furniture? Good. Having to sleep on the floor? Bad.


Going for walks, getting her belly scratched, going to the park, licking the ice cream bowl and suntanning on the patio? All good.


Taking baths, getting her nails clipped, wearing a head harness on walks and having to "stay" when she really doesn't want to? Not the greatest.

Getting to cuddle with her momma? The best.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

"When she wasn't sleeping already she lay in the shade and waited for sleep to return. In slumber everything was as it had once been, when they were whole and he ran beside her, pink and small-limbed and clumsy...no search for him was necessary. In her dreams, he was there, always...not so in the waking world, which held nothing but an endless search."

I hate crying, especially at work. But, this book is so good. The quote above is the beginning of the chapter that had my mascara running by the end of it. "She" is Almondine, Edgar's dog. Almondine looks for Edgar every day for weeks, ever since he ran away from home (it's a long story, one that is definitely worth the read). The author is just so good at describing the special relationship between Edgar and Almondine that you can't help but be devastated at how much the dog misses her boy. I won't spoil the story (I've still got a ways to go myself-about 100 pages left), but I know for sure that I haven't spilled my last tear over this book yet.

"She stood broadside in the gravel and turned her head and asked her question. Asked if it had seen her boy. Her essence. Her soul. But if the traveler understood, it showed no sign."

Zoo

Andrew and I went to the zoo today. We didn't stay as long as we probably would have if it wasn't 10,000 degrees out...in OCTOBER! We got to the petting zoo as the various cattle and horses were eating. You could reach out and touch them, except you can't...'cause they bite. Of course, that's never stopped me before, but Andrew wouldn't let me. Damn. I did get to pet a tiger. Too bad it was made of metal...

This guy cracked us up. He just laid there chillin'. I swear he would talk with a Jamaican accent. You know, if animals talked.

The "too small" stack

I may have mentioned this before, but I have four sizes of pants. My weight doesn't really fluctuate that often, but I've just kept a lot of pants. I went to get dressed for work this morning, planning on wearing my black pinstriped pants...the ones that fit (although a bit loose) the last time I wore them. They were way too baggy! So, I went to my stack of pants that are still too small and grabbed the black pinstriped pants off the stack. And...they fit! Check out the size:

Happy Birthday Boyfriend!

A couple of my favorite pictures of my favorite boyfriend who turns 32 today. Happy Birthday Andrew! You're the bestest (sometimes). Hehe.

My Last Day and Other Musings

Tomorrow is my last day at work...okay, not really. But, it is my last day working half of the week at Juvenile and half of the week at Adult Probation, something I've been doing since May. I'm pretty pumped about it; working two jobs, having two offices, working two case loads, etc. has been pretty tiring. I actually didn't mind doing something different for awhile, but being back full-time at my "real job" will be nice.

I'm still going pretty strong on the healthy living thing, although it has been a bit harder the last few days to avoid wanting to snack. It might be because I might not be eating enough calories anymore since my metabolism has probably sped up some due to exercise. I'll probably start eating larger meals to see if that helps reduce my cravings and increase my energy level. It's been a bit of an effort to get my cardio done lately too. I really don't want to burn myself out so I'm going to try not to stress too much about it if I miss a day or two here and there.

I have a busy weekend ahead. Saturday is Woofstock, which I want to take Bailey to. It's always fun to see all the dogs. I wish Bailey was better behaved on a leash, but that's my fault for never really training her correctly. I need the Dog Whisperer! She just pulls constantly, even with a head harness.

I also have a funeral on Saturday. My mom's co-worker's step-dad passed away on Sunday. I've known Nikki for a long time and actually had her step-dad as my biology professor in college. She was very close to Dr. Fox and is taking his death pretty hard.

After the funeral, Andrew and I will likely be going to sign a lease for Andrew's APARTMENT! He says he's finally going to move out of his mother's house. Long story short, he's been staying with me for over a month after he and his mom got into a(nother) huge fight. If all goes well, he will be living at The Villas of Waterford in Wichita. They're almost brand-new apartments located right off of Rock Road on 29th Street. I think he's pretty excited, but not looking forward to "breaking up" with his mother...tomorrow.

Andrew's birthday is this weekend too, and his horrible girlfriend hasn't even gotten him one present yet. So, I will also be shopping this weekend for presents. I haven't even thought about what I want to get him yet. Maybe I should get him a modeling contract...

Remembering Logan

My friends Jodi and Ryan have a son. His name is Logan William. Today he would have been 3 years, 1 month and 1 day old. However, Logan is not here on Earth with his parents and his big sister Olivia. Logan is in a better place, a happier place, and he is waiting for his family to join him some day. His family prayed desperately for Logan to stay here with them, but he was too little and too sick. Three years ago today, Logan went to his eternal home. His parents, his sister, the rest of his family and those of us who never even met him, love him and will never forget him.