tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88439733287263334282024-03-12T18:17:24.787-07:002 1/2 Fou Fou'sOur adventures with Luke, Leia, and Chewie.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-42717453854149820032013-04-16T15:29:00.000-07:002013-04-16T15:29:20.283-07:00The Power of WomenI saw this awesome video today and couldn't help but share it:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iswiKQbtwXQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iswiKQbtwXQ</a><br />
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It's the Dove Real Beauty Sketches campaign and I can't help but feel overwhelmed by how amazing this is.<br />
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I don't know why, but for the past couple of weeks I've just been thinking about how self-esteem, male or female, has been such a huge target. I guess working with 10-11 year old girls and boys at church, you really start to hear and see how the media affects them. You're probably thinking, "10 and 11 year olds? No way..." but honestly, they're not immune to the influences of TV or radio. Even with great parents who try their best to keep that crap away from them, they still see, hear, or watch things that form their young minds.<br />
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And what does the media teach us? Well, basically if you're not a size 2 (I think it's moved down to a size 16 in juniors... jk... but seriously), then your deemed fat, and if you're fat, you're ugly. For boys, if you're not huge and muscular and cut, then you're wimpy. If you don't do drugs and get high, then you're weird. And sex? Forget about it... it doesn't even matter if you're in love. You can apparently have sex with anyone at anytime because if you're not, then you're not living life.<br />
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I'm absolutely tired of this. Why is this the standard of beauty?<br />
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I'm pretty sure the doughnut in my stomach just exploded with agony. And because of that, I'll need to eat another one. They are so skinny! I feel like if the wind blew, their frail little arms and legs would flap around as their bodies took flight. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful in their own right, but this is NOT the standard we should be setting for ourselves. I will never be that small, mainly because I DON'T want to be that small. Food is just too good.</div>
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Here is a "plus size model":</div>
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Seriously? That's my body type... but I'm not plus size. </div>
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So what do we do about all of this? Do we just continue to tell ourselves that this new diet will work, or if I run 1298302 miles a day I'll be beautiful? As Big Sean so artfully said, "But the grass ain't always green on the otha side, it's green where you water it." We need to water the grass on our side. But how do we do that? </div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">We start a rebellion</span>. </div>
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Yup, a rebellion. We fight, because our enemy isn't going to let up unless we kick back. All rebellions start with a planted thought; something that takes a hold of you, and can't seem to leave you alone. What if that thought was that the media was wrong? What if I told you that no matter whether your thighs touched or not, you're beautiful. What if I told you that the media is wrong in telling you that the less clothes you wear, the more worth you are. Women shouldn't be walking around, wearing skimpy clothing to get attention. That's not the type of attention we deserve. We shouldn't be looked at by how we look, but by how we act. Our deeds, not the our style of clothing, should tell you what type of person we are. </div>
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This isn't easy though; no rebellion is. It isn't easy to say that our love handles are beautiful. It isn't easy to say that our flabby arms are what we've always wanted. But what I've learned in life is that those things that are worth having, are always difficult to attain. Self-esteem is worth having. Waking up in the morning, staring at your make-up-less face and still believing you're beautiful is worth it.</div>
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Women are inherently beautiful, whether short, tall, round, skinny, freckled, curly, pear shaped, etc. We are beautiful because we each carry a light within us, a light no other person can claim or copy. We are all different shades, but just because my shade of light is different than the next persons, doesn't make my light any less bright or beautiful. We all need to shine our light out, and be obnoxiously proud of it. </div>
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Imagine a world where all women shone brightly. Where young girls growing up were able to just be kids, not constantly bombarded with the heavy stress of having to "fit" into the mold. Where women around the world wake up every morning knowing their self worth, and where they went to bed knowing that their light made a difference, even if it was small. Where teens who are "finding themselves" don't need to turn to clicks and fashions to be able to define themselves. Where mothers see the changes in their bodies, and fall in love with every single stretch mark because making life is a gift uniquely theirs. Where matured women look into a mirror and feel pride instead of shame at the sight of a wrinkle. Each is earned, not just given. I bet anyone who looked at Earth from space would think it on fire from all the light. </div>
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I love being a woman, for we are powerful, chaotic and impulsive creatures. We are sensitive, sympathetic, and kind. We are motherly, stern, and demanding. We are expectant, strong, and true. We are everything, and the world needs us. Our counterparts need us. Our children need us. Our families need us. Being called to this vocation is not an easy burden to bear, but it is one given to those who are strong enough for it. We all need to show this world what real women are like; we need to stand up and fight, saying no to the media's display of "feminism". </div>
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Join the rebellion and start loving yourselves, because true happiness starts when you realize that you're your best advocate. </div>
Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-66283367613536450962012-10-19T19:04:00.001-07:002012-10-19T19:04:08.668-07:00Blessed LifeIt's been a while, but I have a valid excuse!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">WE FINALLY MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOME!!</span></span></div>
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It took months to finally close, so by the end we dumped Wells Fargo and got our loan completed through Bank of Arkansas. They were able to get everything done in a week. If you ever want to get a home loan, I don't recommend Wells Fargo.<br />
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Anywho, we moved in not last weekend, but the weekend before. These past couple of weeks have been stressful just trying to adjust to our new home, but slowly and surly we are moving in. I can't tell you how happy I am waking up in my new house, and that's saying something since I'm not a morning person. The dogs love it... but poor things, they love everything. They have adjusted well though, and the neighbors haven't banged on our door yet to tell us to shut them up. I know a time will come when that will happen, but it is not this day. (I hope you read that dramatically).<br />
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This is the main entry way to all the rooms. I love the arched entryways. </div>
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We have this little area in the corner. </div>
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Our kitchen. Luke, Leia, and Chewy all fit at the same time. I know this because they're ALWAYS in there begging for food. </div>
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The bookcase is a built in one. I saw the picture frame set up from Pinterest. The photos in the frames around the "B" are currently empty. If I can ever get all three dogs to sit still for a picture, I might actually put something in there. </div>
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I think I'm in love with this fridge. I open it and I swear I hear angels sing. </div>
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I took this picture the day we got our house keys :). Pretty sure I cried. </div>
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Our dining room. </div>
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Our living room. My favorite part is the view when the sun is going down. It really just makes the home feel warm and inviting. I love sitting on my sofa and relaxing after work. I can't wait till I can play with the fireplace. </div>
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Buhdahs (the pups). They love their backyard, and the neighborhood. Like I said, if I can ever get a normal picture with the three of them, I'm framing it. This is the best I've got so far. </div>
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This is supposed to be our "computer room", but we decided to make it our TV room. It's cozy. </div>
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Our front door. Believe it or not, I made that wreath! </div>
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Our kitchen from another angle. You can see the dogs surrounding Michael, getting ready to attack.<br />
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This is another built in bookcase. I love this and all the stuff I can put away in it.</div>
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I didn't put any pictures of our bedroom, bathroom, or other bedrooms because those are still works in progress. Technically the entire house is still a work in progress, but we're happy with where we're at right now. Hopefully if we stick to our budget and save, we can afford an awesome bedroom make over. That's a maybe though. I'm just so grateful that we finally got a place to call our home where our kiddem's can call home as well (once those nightmares start coming... which isn't any time soon). I'm so happy that moving isn't something we have to dread in the future anymore, at least for a long, LONG time. I can't tell you how sick I am of moving... even thinking about it makes me want to kill a butterfly. </div>
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The best thing I've learned about this entire experience: the best things worth having are never easy to get (or keep). </div>
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Amen to that. The best things I have in my life right now: </div>
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1. <span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: white;">My religion</span></span></div>
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2. <span style="background-color: #e06666;"><span style="color: orange;">My family</span> </span> </div>
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3. <span style="background-color: #45818e;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">My home </span></span></div>
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:) </div>
Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-4874674276791157372012-09-23T12:39:00.003-07:002012-09-23T12:39:16.730-07:00Wells Fargo<br />
This isn't about them... at least not completely. They've just been on my mind so often, I thought I'd dedicate my hate to them.<br />
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Anywho, the other day I scheduled Luke and Leia to get their yearly shots, and for some reason I scheduled it for the same day and time. Chewy can't be left by himself, so instead of rescheduling, I decided that I should just take all of them. By myself. Smart right?<br />
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On my list of brilliant ideas... taking them ALL to the vets by myself was on the bottom. Of the stupid idea list. I had to have the staff help me bring them in and hold them while I ran and tried to either pull or pick up one of the others. Leia and Chewy peed on my vet and her assistant while Luke was all like "OH MY GOSH PEOPLE! OH MY GOSH FLOOR! OH MY GOSH A DOOR STOPPER! I LOVE ALL THINGS!"<br />
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I'm not sure who he resembles more, but his love for life and everything in it is not a trait in our family. At least not my side. Basically, now I've learned that if they need to get shots, I need to make three separate appointments. I love them, but it's times like these where I'm just like "WHY IN THE WORLD DO I HAVE THREE LARGE DOGS?!"<br />
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I love them though... and I want more.<br />
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News on the house:<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">WE FINALLY SIGNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></span><br />
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I'm absolutely kidding. They cleared us to close last Monday (this is the <u>second</u> time they have said this) and then called us later saying that they needed ONE MORE THING. You know what they need? My foot shoved up...<br />
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I'll stop. But seriously, I HATE WELLS FARGO. I had a dream about burning their building down. I watched as it burned, but my dream didn't go into any more detail. Darn. You know it's starting to get bad if you're dreaming about burning their buildings to the ground. The relo company that owns the house said that if we didn't close by last week, that they would put the house on the market again. Our agent called and asked them to extend it and they agreed if we moved to a different bank. Which we did, on Friday. We moved our loan over to Bank of Arkansas and they said they should have everything done by next Saturday. I don't know whether to believe them or not, but the lady we were working with said that she had to take a case from Wells Fargo only that morning as well. I spoke to our agent today (we went to see the house to measure for a fridge. It's still as beautiful as I remember it) and she said that she's heard countless stories of Wells Fargo customers leaving because of their inability to handle mortgages. I'm not surprised. Our agent said that she's going to announce to the 300+ agents in her company to not work with Wells Fargo.<br />
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I smiled when I heard that. They just lost a lot of business in NW Arkansas and I just can't feel but a little responsible :). I hope their buildings burn. Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-29327101743883002332012-09-23T12:25:00.000-07:002012-09-23T12:25:55.636-07:00Cheward the 3rd <br />
Last Sunday, my baby boy Chew-Chew celebrated his first birthday! My big chug had a fun little party with just his brother and sister (since we don't really know any of the neighbor dogs, and also because Chewy is about 80% bigger than them...). I baked him an awesome peanut butter cake and they were all able to eat some soft food instead of their regular hard food. I bathed him in kisses (mainly because I can't get him in the bathtub to save my life... or I would have actually bathed him) and showered him in affection. He obviously only cared about the cool new food part, but I also know that deep down my baby chug feels loved. For Luke and Leia's birthday I did a "three things you love about them", so here is Chewy's list:<br />
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#1. He is protective of his mommy.<br />
Nothing flatters me more than watching him crowd around me at the dog park and growl at any dogs that come near me. He also does that to Luke and Leia... but that's more annoying than cute. But what can I say? The baby boy loves his mommy!<br />
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(Ignore Luke... he didn't understand what "move" meant)</div>
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#2. He's fat.</div>
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I just love how chunky he is. I think that's what makes him so stinking cute: he's fat and he's proud. I love watching him on walks because even though he's big, he trots when he walks. It's the funniest thing. And he's so proper when he does it. He lifts his tail up in the air and his huge paws are just trotting up the road. He pulls... but we're still working on that.</div>
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#3. He's hilarious.</div>
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Out of the three, he's the funniest to watch. My favorite thing is when his flappy cheek gets stuck on a tooth so he looks like he's half growling. Sometimes he'll just stare at me that way and I just have a laughing fit because of how silly he looks. He's also a menace to Leia. Everyday when I get home and let them in, him and Leia deck it out. She'll jump on our bed and Chewy will just stand in front of her and bark. He'll do that until she reacts and when she does, he usually runs away and slams into something. A couple of times that "something" was me... but you just learn to live with 100+ pounds being thrown at you.</div>
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I love my Chew and I'm grateful that he is my baby boy to love and to squeeze. </div>
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Baby Boy</div>
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His awesome cake. I tried it... it tasted like crap.</div>
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A true candid of our life. Leia is ALWAYS in my face, Luke is doing his own thing, and Chewy is just like "When can I have my cake mom?"</div>
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He's being such a patient boy while Mommy wastes time with pictures. </div>
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I, of course, had to emasculate him with an awesome and pretty blue twisty thing! </div>
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Luckily no one was hurt or injured during the consumption of cake.</div>
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEW-CHEW!</div>
Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-6527547404517457072012-09-12T20:46:00.000-07:002012-09-12T20:49:24.516-07:00Resurrection No, this isn't going to be spiritual, sorry y'all.<br />
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And by y'all, I mean "you all".<br />
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Anywho, I was going to wait to blog when we finally closed on our house, but WE HAVEN'T CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE.<br />
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We were supposed to close the end of June... but I don't think Wells Fargo owns any calendars because it's freakin September. I keep hearing "Oh, we'll close this week" and then the week goes by and no one is asking me to sign anything. I'm probably on the verge of committing murder, but luckily for Wells Fargo I'm too poor to fly out there to burn them alive on a stake. I hope to one day maybe just ruin their company, but I just don't have the energy. They're lucky I'm lazy.<br />
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The past couple of months have been a blur really. All we've been doing is waiting for our house to close, working, yard work, dog work, some sleeping (maybe), Michael probably got sick... oh wait no I did, more working, and we visited DC for a weekend for Ale's Sweet 15! I took tons of pictures, but on their camera, so I'll probably never see them since they never know where the cord is. The party was a lot of fun though, and Michael and I had a great time. I danced like an idiot with old friends, ate a TON of cheese, watched Mariachi's play, and got to visit with people I hadn't seen in years. It was so nice to drive around, even though we were only there for maybe 2 days total. Ale looked beautiful and elegant which is weird because I don't think I've ever seen her in anything other than soccer shorts. I also got caught up with everything soccer, thanks to her giving me play by plays of the past 35 matches. She didn't really, but the point I'm trying to make is she talks about soccer too much.<br />
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Apart from all of that boringness, the only thing exciting that's coming up is CHEWIE'S BIRTHDAY!!! Can you believe my little fatty fat is turning one!? I found this picture of him on my computer the other day of when we first got him:<br />
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How cute is my chunk-a-chunk!? He's so little and fluffy; his little tongue sticking out. I tried to get Chewie to sit the same way so that I could get a good "before and after" picture, but this is all he gave me:<br />
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Basically he's grown a lot and is really fat. And extremely cute. And smelly... but cute. I love my Chew-Chew and I can't wait to celebrate his first birthday on Sunday!<br />
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Hopefully soon I can finally blog about our new house... hopefully.<br />
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<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-74714104216500986372012-08-03T20:33:00.000-07:002012-08-03T20:35:15.633-07:00HaircutWe just paid over $100 to get Chewy shaved... and this is what we got:<br />
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Before After<br />
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You think the pictures suck? So do I. PHONES DON'T HAVE GREAT CAMERAS! If you agree with me, please contact 479-621-3818 (Michael's cell phone) and tell him how we need to buy a camera. Basically Chewy looks like a great dane/black lab mix. It's hilarious and I've been making fun of him for a day now. <br />
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Anywho, the Olympics started so I've been fabulously obsessed :). I have claimed our I-PAD for the next couple weeks so that I can catch up with it at work. My goal is to go to an Olympics. I know, most people say they want to be in the Olympics, but I've read what those freaks do to get there... and no thanks. I like doughnuts too much and I'd rather sit with all the other fat people in the crowd. Along with being beautifully overweight, I currently have two boyfriends: Ryan Lochte and Matt Anderson. Oh, Michael is still the love of my life... but a girls gotta have some eye candy on the side right? Anyways, the point is they're beautiful and fun to watch on TV while Michael is beautiful and fun to watch at home. Win Win for me. <br />
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The Arkansas heat has been miserable, making me miss the Utah dry weather. BUT, some awesome things have happened:<br />
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#1. We went to Red Lobster one night with Michael's co-worker Kassie and her fiance Joel, and in the middle of our meal, the lights went out! They never came back on, so we got our meal for free and had some free cheesecake to top our meal off.<br />
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#2. We went to some pizza place (I'm not a fan of it... and we keep ending up there...), and when we were there with Michael's co-workers (Kassie and Joel were there and we decided to split a pizza), they dropped our pizza and had to start a new one, meaning that we got our food for free again! I love eating with Kassie and Joel.<br />
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#3. I went to get a snack today at work with my co-worker Jose and when we were downstairs waiting to order, the guy in front of me asked me what I was going to order. I told him I was just going to get a muffin, but he asked me to get something else... so I got a fruit smoothie AND a muffin. He paid for me, and didn't get anything for himself. Weird? Yes. Awesome? Double yes.<br />
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Did all my awesome things include food? Of course... I just talked about how much I love food above. Some not so awesome things:<br />
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#1. Our closing date has been pushed back 2 weeks so we wont be in our house for another couple weeks.<br />
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See how it doesn't involve food? That's what makes it suck. And I guess also the fact that I can't move into my awesome house. But mainly because no food is involved.<br />
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I'm on my period, so all I've been thinking about is food.<br />
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... just in case you can't tell.<br />
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I dedicate these to myself:<br />
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Funny story with this last pin... this is Luke to the core. He gets on our bed at 6:00 AM sharp, EVERYDAY. And not only does he get on the bed, but he paws my face and neck until I respond. Last Saturday I almost killed him, but as soon as I look into his cute little face, I melted and punched him with my lips. If Michael woke me up, I would probably just punch him.<br />
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Yay for husbands!<br />
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<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-32551247376359471022012-07-11T18:43:00.001-07:002012-07-11T18:45:40.471-07:00NippleSo you're probably all wondering, "Why is this post called 'Nipple'?" Well, let me tell you.<br />
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Michael and I were enjoying a normal afternoon after work. The pups were chillin', and I was getting ready to make dinner (yes, you read that correctly. I, Paola Black, was going to make dinner). As I'm getting the stove and crap ready, I look over at Luke and his ear is flipped up. I notice that it's super red and I go over to check him out and his ear is nasty red and swollen with nasty thick, white pus coming out of it (your welcome if you were eating while reading that). I check his other ear, and it seems fine, but I panic anyways and run to Michael in tears about how my dog is dying.<br />
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Michael, being the reasonable and level-headed spouse, checked out his ear and confirmed that it was nasty and infected. Well, while he was rubbing him to make him feel better, he felt something on his stomach and told me to check it out while he held Luke down. I go in and it looks like something black is sticking out of his stomach, so my first reaction is to scream and cry about how something is inside of him, eating him alive. Michael, rolling his eyes, checks on it and then tells me to get tweezers because he thinks it's a tick or something. Well, I go grab the tweezers and then Michael and I attempt to take that mother freakin nasty bug out of my baby boy.<br />
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No luck. The stupid thing is stubborn, and when we keep trying, it kept digging itself in his poor little stomach. After about a minute, I'm really freaking out and we call to find out where the emergency animal hospital is. Luckily, it's only a mere 30 minutes away! Waahooo!!! (please note the sarcasm).<br />
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When we finally get to the emergency hospital, they take my baby boy and start looking at him, but we can't actually be there to watch so I'm sitting in the waiting room, watching some stupid MTV show. Finally, after horrible suspense, the vet calls us into a room and brings him back. The vet comes in and starts talking about his ear infection and how Luke needs meds and I'm just like, "SHUT UP! WHAT ABOUT THE PARASITE THAT'S DIGGING INTO HIS BRAIN!?!?!??!" I didn't actually say anything, but i felt all that.<br />
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When the vet finally gets to the point of the creepy crawly, he's tells us that he couldn't find it, but that it sounds like he has something really bad and that if we popped it or burst the mother freaker, Luke could go into shock. You can imagine how I reacted...<br />
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Anywho, so the vet goes back and tries to find the nasty thing again, and we sit there and wait. This time he doesn't take too long coming back, and he brings Luke with him. Here is what he said: "You were actually ripping out his nipple".<br />
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SERIOUSLY!?<br />
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I almost ripped my dogs nipple out.<br />
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The end.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-69465213927198231932012-06-26T17:18:00.001-07:002012-06-26T17:22:05.691-07:00Our First HomeWe freakin BOUGHT A HOUSE.<br />
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As soon as we signed the papers, Michael said, "We're finally real people." I never realized how poor real people were... just kidding. Well, not really haha.<br />
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So we have been house hunting for the past couple weeks and it has been horrible. I would literally send our<span style="background-color: white;"> Realtor a list of houses I liked at night, and half my list would be gone (sold) by the morning. We were starting to think that we would never find anything, until we found a really REALLY nice house. The problem: wayyy too expensive. So we dropped that and kept looking. It got to the point where I was telling Michael that I didn't care anymore. I told him to just chose something before I exploded. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Luckily I didn't have to explode. On Saturday we went house hunting and the last house we saw we fell in love with. I mean the price was perfect, the size was good, and it was updated. I don't mind doing a little work, but if everything is done to your standard then better for me. Our backyard is pretty large and the floors (most of them) are pretty dog proof. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Anywho, so on Saturday we made an offer <b>within an hour</b> of being in that house. We called the Realtor associated with the house and she said that 4 or 5 other couples were interested. By Sunday, our offer was still the strongest, but then we got a call from our Realtor saying that some guy was offering CASH MONEY for the house. Who the hell has that much money!? I was ready to punch someone. Well, usually cash offers win, so we just kind of bowed our heads and started looking at other houses. On Monday we didn't hear anything and then this morning my husband texted me that we got it! I stood up and shrieked at work, jumping up and down at my desk. It was a pretty fun sight... and my co-workers were all giving me strange looks. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">We signed our contract right after I got done with work and now we are waiting to close :). I can't wait to move in!! We hope to be in by the end of July :). Here are some pictures for your enjoyment (I'm obviously not posting our address... I'm pretty sure too many people at work already know where I live...):</span><br />
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Our HUGE backyard for our pup-pups. We're going to plant some trees to give them some shade.</div>
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The fireplace in the backyard. </div>
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The master bath. The left door is the toilet and the right is the walk-in closet.</div>
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Master bedroom. I can't remember what type of ceiling that is...</div>
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Breakfast nook, kitchen, and living room. </div>
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Formal dining room.</div>
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The front of the house.</div>
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My AWESOME kitchen! Well... our kitchen I guess, since I don't cook.</div>
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The living room.</div>
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Kitchen, bar, and living room.</div>
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We are SOO happy with our new house and we can't wait to move in!! And obviously none of the furniture is ours... </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-80467739704860460382012-06-13T19:47:00.000-07:002012-06-13T19:47:40.378-07:003 Year AnniversaryMichael and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary today :). It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but it also feels like I've known Michael forever. I'm so glad I married him. These past 3 years (I guess almost 4 if you count our dating...) have been getting better and better. Michael is my best friend and the only person on the planet who truly knows me. I have nothing to hide around him and I'm never ashamed of being my true self. He's hilarious and is always keeping things interesting. He also has a belief in me that I've never seen in anyone else. Remember my rant about him being my trainer? Well, I'm actually touched that he believed in me enough to know that I would get through some of the horrible work outs he put me through. He believes in me and I believe in him.<br />
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And he loves dogs. Which is convenient because we have 3 of them.<br />
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We celebrated by going to a fancy Italian place in the square. I got an expensive $26 fish meal that wasn't impressive. It was the most expensive meal I've ever had, and I regret it. I wanted to go to a sea food place that was on the other side of the square, but we had heard good things about the Italian restaurant so we figured it would be worth a try. I don't think I'll go there anytime soon again. Anywho, it was romantic and I love spending time with my hubhub.<br />
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Some overdue pictures:<br />
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One of our last hikes in Utah. I miss walking with them off the leash :(.</div>
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Leia playing with Daddy.</div>
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This is in our new place in the office. Luke likes to sit by the window and watch the happenings of the backyard. Silly boy.</div>
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These are our Hunger Game VIP tickets... I probably should have posted this a long time ago. W/e. I still have these tickets haha. </div>
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<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-73804079420330700392012-06-12T20:15:00.000-07:002012-06-12T20:15:06.847-07:00Personal TrainerIf you do not value your life, or are suicidal, ask Michael to be your trainer. I unfortunately did.<br />
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Jk.<br />
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But seriously.<br />
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My boss is in really good shape so I asked her what her secret is, and she said that she's had a trainer for a really long time. I told Michael that I wanted to get one, assuming that the trainers at the gym we go to would probably be cheap. He volunteered to train me instead, so I stupidly accepted. On Saturday we had our first training session, and he had me "warm up" running half a mile at a 7-minute pace. If you think that's easy, then screw you, because it wasn't for me. I had been running the week before we started, but not that intensely. After the run (yes, I finished it... but barely), I was done for the day.<br />
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He barely scratched the surface.<br />
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He had me do exercises that hurt after the first rep. I was literally falling asleep by the end of the work out because my body just wanted to shut down and heal. After the torture, he made me do sprints. Freakin jerk. I tried for about 10 seconds and then collapsed. Then he made me run sprints again.<br />
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Point of the story is, I'm still sore, even today. My neck muscles hurt on Sunday. I had muscles on my feet that were hurting. My FINGERS were hurting. He killed me. And then he killed me again yesterday. I'm not sure who's more foolish... Michael for thinking that I'll survive another work out session, or me continuing to go. Michael did the work out I did on Saturday, and he barely got through it. I just wanted to add that so that people don't think I'm completely useless.<br />
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Hopefully, if I'm not lying dead in the Bentonville Gym, I'll be toned and sexy within a month. Or two. Probably never. I decided today that I enjoy eating burgers more than being really toned. But then my body remembers all the pain Michael made me go through and I never want to eat ever again. Ever.<br />
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P.S. I just read the Divergent series, and IT WAS AWESOME. Such an exciting book!!!!!!!! I recommend it.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-61352516488870845912012-06-12T20:00:00.002-07:002012-06-12T20:00:42.459-07:00ArkansasOK, I said I would update everyone about our move and everything... but I forgot and the weeks have flown by.<br />
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Anywho, so I started work the Monday after we moved (I ended my HCO job at BYU on the Friday before we left), which means that I had no break from work (which is a good and bad thing). I got a position working as a merchandising assistant for Sam's Club Home Office. The job is something else, let me tell you. My first couple days were spent at a painful orientation, and then I was able to get my grand tour of the Sam's building which is freakin awesome. My co-workers around me are great and I'm really enjoying my team. I'm slowly learning all the responsibilities I need to do, but it's a bit overwhelming. I guess the thing that is most stressful is not knowing anything or not knowing what to do when something comes up. I'm being patient, and I have definitely improved in the past month, but it's still a thorn on my side. I want to know everything, and I want to know everything now :).<br />
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My category that I support (Paper) is right next to the Pet category so I get to talk dogs with people that actually want to listen! I know I can get a little carried away with talking about my furry children, but now I feel like I have a run for my money (or whatever the saying is). My co-worker (as I have already mentioned) has 4 large, beautiful dogs, so we trade secrets and give each other pointers and advice :).<br />
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So we are renting a house in Bella Vista, which is the hilly side of Benton County. The roads look exactly like the roads I got into my big accident with my jeep do. It scares me to death driving on these roads... but I'm getting use to that too. The backyard we have is great and big, with lots of trees so the dogos have shade and ticks. I love ticks. Especially dead ones.<br />
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Anywho, WE BOUGHT A CAR!<br />
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These pictures aren't actually our car... I wanted to take pictures, but it's dark out right now and I know that if I wait to post this, I'll forget and it'll never get posted. But it's the same color as the ones above. The car is pretty awesome and it's a 2013! I know... it's only 2012, but I'm not questioning the label :). I get to drive this to work everyday so I call it "my car" lol. Michael likes to correct me and say "our OTHER car". Toe-may-toe, toe-ma-toe. Point is, we love it and it loves us. Now we are one big, two car, happy family. </div>
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Michael finished all his classes so now he is OFFICIALLY a BYU graduate. Congrats to my love!! I'm really proud of him for pushing through the last two classes he had to finish. Poor thing, the classes were draining his life source away. He officially gets to start work on Monday. He's been complaining about how he's had nothing to do for about 2 months. I think about his complaints when I wake up at 6:00 AM and watch him sleep peacefully as I drag myself out of bed. Then I think about punching his peaceful face. Then I backtrack and remember that he's really good looking, so then I punch him in the arm instead. </div>
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Life here is going pretty well so far. We're very happy :).</div>
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<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-10642737295925808452012-05-28T20:09:00.002-07:002012-05-28T20:09:29.276-07:00Ar-KansasWe've been here for two weeks, and it feels like we just moved here. It's been absolutely CRAZY (hence going incognito for two weeks...).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Car Ride</span></div>
Remind me to never drive a car with 3 large dogs across the country. Never. The drive itself wasn't too bad, but we probably would have made better time if we didn't have to stop all the time. We stopped every couple hours to give the dogs some "stretch" time and to let them relieve themselves. They didn't eat the whole time (about a day), but they drank lots of water. Chewy had the hardest time compared to the other two. Luke and Leia slept most of the way, mainly because I gave Leia calming pills (about 6...). I gave Chewy some, but he's so big, I don't think it took as much as an effect as it did for Leia. Anywho, he refused to stand or sleep in the car. During our drive through the night, I saw that he kept dozing off, but then snapped his head back up. Poor kid. He was so stiff and was more than excited when we stopped.<br />
Michael drove about 80% of it. I feel like such a wimp. I've driven across the states so many times, so I was confident in my abilities to drive during the night, but I could not keep awake to save my life. I drove from 12-2 and the entire time I was dancing and singing really loudly so that I could concentrate. Finally Michael just took over and drove all night. In the morning I tried to take over, but again, I just couldn't keep awake. I would literally slap myself as hard as I could to try and stay awake... I felt so pathetic. Poor Michael...<br />
Walmart luckily was able to ship our car to Arkansas, so we got to rent a new Jeep Cherokee.<br />
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I absolutely love that car! If we ever get in a position to buy one, I would do it in a heart beat. It is HUGE on the inside (enough room to fit me lying down and three dogs all lying down), it was super quiet on the highway, and it drove super smooth. Love it. LOOOOVE it. <br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The First Week</span><br />
We moved here two Saturdays ago and the first week was spent sleeping on an air mattress (thanks to my wonderful and amazing in-laws) and having no furniture. That week was honestly horrible for me. It's not that I hated sleeping on an air mattress, that was actually really comfortable. I think the bad thing about it was that we didn't have our stuff and we didn't have internet or cable. It was also hard trying to adjust to my new job. Orientation was.. interesting. I was excited to actually start work, but it's frustrating because of how much I don't know. I love getting so comfortable with a job that you're able to answer any question and handle any job. I know that knowledge of my job will come with time, but I'm not very patient. As Michael says about me: when I want something, I don't want it now, I wanted it 2 minutes ago. <br />
Anywho, we finally got our stuff Tuesday (it was suppose to be Monday, but I guess people want to do things to shorten my life) and we unpacked everything that same day. It was EXHAUSTING. If we move in 2 years, it'll be too soon. I don't want to move ever again, but since we're renting, that's not really an option. I want to live in our rental for a while, so hopefully we can save up enough money to find a house that we can live in for the rest of our lives. I know this is a lot to ask for, but a girl can dream. Anywho, after we got everything unpacked, the internet and cable came on Wednesday. I love cable. I love watching basketball on my couch in my sweats with my pups sleeping on the floor in front of me. I've learned to never take the little things for granted. Especially cable.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">We're cheering for them... I love me some Durantula.</span></div>
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The backyard is pretty awesome and the dogs are loving it. We wanted to have them sleep outside at night, but that was scratched off our list the first night. Our backyard is bordering a small forest so the dogs are constantly hearing noises. Leia has assumed the responsibility of barking at every noise she hears, so we try to keep her inside at night as much as possible. We bought them a small plastic pool to splash in when it gets hot, and Chewy decided to give it a go yesterday. The water was a dark brown after about 2 minutes in it. We're going to have to rethink that.<br />
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Ugh, there is so much more! I need to never miss out so long on writing on here. We'll take some pictures once we get more furniture and decorations (which we are doing, so help me!). We bought a car today! :), pictures to come.<br />
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Peace.<br />
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And <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY</span></span>! I love anything that celebrates the armed forces. I love and respect the men and women in the military. Honestly, anyone who gives their lives for someone like me to sit on this computer and write what I want and when I want is my hero. I enjoy all the freedoms I have because of other people. <br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-8108896914936187522012-05-08T12:48:00.000-07:002012-05-08T14:29:35.254-07:00Moving Day T-3 days3 more days until we drive out of Utah!<br />
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Things I still need to do:<br />
- Finish packing things the movers can't pack<br />
- Clean everything/everywhere (except for 2/3 bedrooms)<br />
- Pack the dog's food and water<br />
- Call the rental place to let them know we're coming early<br />
- Call our current renter to come check our place<br />
- Pick up dog poop<br />
- Clean out garage<br />
- Do a final load of laundry<br />
- Work 8 more hours for my part-time job<br />
- Get our car checked/fixed (the brakes have been making weird noises)<br />
- Find people to take our food that we can't take<br />
- Eat a TON of chicken<br />
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.... and it goes on. I keep making little lists, but they keep getting bigger so I throw them away to make news ones. And then I lose them. So I make other lists to keep track of my lists. And then I sit at home and eat because I don't know how else to cope with my migraines. I want to get started on the cleaning because I know that will take the longest. I cleaned 2 bedrooms and I cleaned our 2nd bathroom (Michael said it still looks dirty... what does he know), and it took me 3 1/2 hours! I can't even imagine what the rest of the house (which includes our bedroom, bathroom, closet, hallway, main living room, kitchen, lower living room, storage closet, laundry room, and garage) will take. Whatever... some miracle will happen, I'm sure of it...<br />
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Anywho, on Sunday I started shaving Chewy (he has like 3 layers of really thick fur) and our hair buzzer thing broke because of all the hair he has. We only got about half way so for about a day he looked like he had a mohawk. We finally finished shaving him yesterday, and he looks ridiculous. We left his legs furry and his head furry, so he kind of has the lion effect going on. We had to buy some sunscreen also, because the big guy has sensitive skin (which has never been exposed to the sun). On some places I shaved too close... so he has some red marks. He's set for Arkansas though, so maybe he'll be happy with me once he feels how hot it can get there.<br />
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I'll post pictures later.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-68847031272987838472012-05-02T09:08:00.003-07:002012-05-02T09:08:35.086-07:00Post OperationMY MOUTH HURTS!<br />
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But not that bad actually. The pain medication does a great job helping me feel better. The problem is, I keep getting sucked into this false security of feeling that my mouth doesn't hurt anymore, but after the drugs wear off, the pain comes back and I remember that I have to keep taking my meds. I thought I would feel almost 100% today, but there isn't much improvement from yesterday. Monday was probably the worst pain, but I kept taking my meds so I just slept most of Monday. Tuesday was nice because I had sleeping/waking intervals. I would sleep for 2 hours then be awake for 2 hours. Why can't every day be like that?<br />
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JK, that would be extremely boring. Anywho, the operation went off without any bumps. My back right tooth snapped in half while they were trying to get it out (the sound really freaked me out...), so they had to cut into my gum to take out the roots. Apart from that, I didn't really swell. It's weird feeling the holes in the back of my mouth. I keep tasting blood, so that's getting old... and I'm tired of eating applesauce.<br />
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The meds make me a little loopy and really tired, so I'm hoping I can fight through it for work. It would be kind of awkward if I started mumbling weird things to any students that come in...<br />
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I was looking at Michael's facebook, and this picture caught my eye: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvyHeZG5W57Kj9aVprYX918dvdEc03dzNq9T_Y-ttcThJsqBAjE7ywrVLg6utZ-0mXzl18MIO3zEb_CM8nP0EvEL3MVyUwowVRyUee66OEO4YBCZ7BWuFenDF2VuheqbQsgghy17XOhY/s1600/luke.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvyHeZG5W57Kj9aVprYX918dvdEc03dzNq9T_Y-ttcThJsqBAjE7ywrVLg6utZ-0mXzl18MIO3zEb_CM8nP0EvEL3MVyUwowVRyUee66OEO4YBCZ7BWuFenDF2VuheqbQsgghy17XOhY/s320/luke.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is my tender, little Luke. This picture makes me want to punch things. He is so cute. My puhpuh's were great companions the past couple days... so I'm grateful for the time Luke spent to snuggle up with me. He's my little cuddle bug.<br />
<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-60540455622477909912012-04-30T10:10:00.001-07:002012-04-30T10:10:23.087-07:00OperationI get my wisdom teeth out in t-minus 2 hours!! I'm not nervous at all really.... my work is having a pot-luck for me today so I'm more excited for that (which starts in 30 minutes!). I made cupcakes and they look pretty bangin. I just wished I took a picture... I'll take a camera picture, but that never does it justice.<br />
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Anywho, I started reading "Matched" and I like it so far. Since I'll be bed-ridden, I'll be doing a lot of reading. I'm really excited.<br />
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Yes, I'm a nerd.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-40639139195236898932012-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:002012-04-27T12:01:17.840-07:00DentistNo, this isn't about Michael again. I went to the dentist this morning because my teeth have been hurting and Michael keeps telling me that some of my teeth have cavities...<br />
<br />
Well, now it's confirmed. I have 2 cavities. I've NEVER had cavities. I actually took pride in how perfect and beautiful my teeth were. Now two of my teeth decide to kick me in the mouth and go all rotten on me. Luckily though, the cavities are on my back wisdom teeth, so instead of filling them and getting all gassed up, I'm just going to get them pulled out! <br />
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My appointment is on Monday and I expect to be back into work on Wednesday. They said that my wisdom teeth were already completely out and there is no infection by the gums so the procedure should be very simple. I was going to wait until next weekend, but my sister-in-law gets married then and I'd rather not have a puffy face for all the pictures. And I want to eat her cake. Cake = more important than wisdom teeth. I requested to not have any gas given to me because I would rather avoid any loopiness (especially after Micheal's little adventure Wednesday). <br />
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Anywho, while I was getting my teeth cleaned, the doctor asked if my husband was Michael Black. I replied, "Yes. He was here earlier this week." The dentist then told me that he remembered him well and then the rest of the staff started telling me weird things he was doing and how he "made their day". Apparently he was flailing his arms around and kept sticking his tongue out and wiggling it at people.<br />
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I should stick a camera on Michael from now on.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-44974834641178906172012-04-26T08:30:00.000-07:002012-04-26T08:34:06.360-07:00Nitrous GasTwo things that should NEVER be mixed together:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Michael</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nitrous Gas</span></div>
<br />
Yesterday, Michael had to get some cavities filled and I completely forgot
about the effects of nitrous gas they give you at dentist's offices (the ones right next to the Provo Library). He
called me and sounded like those videos on youtube with the kids that
just got their wisdom teeth out. It was hilarious, and I'm surprised he
made it to campus without getting hit by a car. I kept telling him that I was going to pick him up, but he kept saying, "No, no, I'll look BOTH ways before I cross, Paola!... BOTH WAYS!". I'm pretty sure I face palmed myself a ton yesterday.<br />
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I lied to Michael and told him that I would wait in my office, but instead I walked/ran to meet him at the edge of campus next to the RB stairs. I called him again to see where he was and he kept saying that people were looking at him weird... I told him that it was probably because he was yelling and his jaw was numb so he sounded "special". He just giggled and kept saying that people were looking at him weird. <b style="color: #b4a7d6;">*face palm*</b><br />
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I finally met up with him on the edge of campus next to the RB stairs and he looked at me and yelled, "You LIED! I knew you were lying! You're such a liar!". Of course he was yelling this while a ton of students were walking by. Anywho, I led him back to my office with him yelling about how much of a liar I was haha.<br />
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When we finally reached my office, I told him to sit down and not say anything. He decided it would be fun to play with his tongue, so he kept sticking it out and wiggling it around. Then he kept yelling about how he was drooling and how he couldn't feel his tongue. My co-workers Melba and Becky were laughing while Michael giggled with his tongue sticking out. I kept telling him to put his tongue back in his mouth, but he kept replying with, "I CAN'T FEEL IT!".<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"> </span><b style="color: #b4a7d6;">*face palm*</b><br />
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I decided that I didn't want students seeing him like this, especially since they're coming into the Honor Code Office, so I stuck him in the back room to play on the computer. He refused to sit down and kept sticking his tongue out at me. He then decided that he had enough of the office and ran out. I had to chase him down and persuade him to come back inside. I never realized how big he was until I had to pull and push him back into my office. He kept telling me how boring it was and how he couldn't feel his jaw. <b style="color: #b4a7d6;">*face palm*</b><br />
<br />
I finally got him to sit down and not saying anything and I told him that if he sat quietly for 15 minutes then I would let him go talk to his counselor. He sat down for about 5 minutes and then kept telling me how he wanted to leave. Linda, my boss, finally came out from talking to Larry, the director, and I told Michael not to say anything and not to be rude. As soon as he saw her, he yelled, "Linda! Paola told me not to say anything rude! She thinks I'm going to say something rude!". Linda already knew Michael was kind of loopy (before I left I interrupted her lunch and told her that Michael was on campus high on drugs....), so she just laughed and wanted to find a camera. I wish we had one. Anywho, Michael decides that he wants to talk to Linda so he walks up to her desk and starts looking at all her pictures. All of Linda's children are adopted, and her one daughter who is half black has 3 adorable grand-kids. Anywho, because her daughter is half black, her children all have frizzy hair. Michael saw a picture of Linda's grand kids, looked at Linda, and then commented, "Wow Linda, you're children are really frizzy." <b style="color: #b4a7d6;">*face palm*</b><br />
<br />
Linda took everything in stride and just laughed at him. I explained to his intoxicated mind that those were Linda's grandchildren and that they obviously had frizzy hair because they were half black. Michael pondered that for a second and said, "Oh, that makes sense. They're too young to be your kids." Omgsh... completely missed the mark with the whole race thing, but at least he got something right?<br />
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Anywho, he finally sat back down and returned to sticking his tongue out at everyone. When the time limit I set was finally done, I told him he could leave. I begged him not to talk to anyone but his counselor and he promised he wouldn't....<br />
<br />
An hour later and returns to my office whole, and the drug seemed to have lifted a little. He thankfully didn't harass anyone or tell anyone inappropriate comments about their children. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;">Lesson learned from this:</span> <b>NEVER let Michael go to the dentist office alone. </b><br />
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He told me how when they were giving him pure oxygen to calm the effects of the drug, he held his breath so that the effects would linger longer.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;">Another lesson learned:</span> <b>Michael can do really stupid things, but I still love him to pieces. </b><br />
<br />Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-1043296292873060072012-04-26T07:55:00.001-07:002012-04-26T07:55:06.290-07:00New JobI got some great news the other day! A couple weeks ago I flew to Arkansas for a job interview for a Merchandising Assistant position and I got it!! I really wanted this job because there is a lot of room for promotion and it's in business! If I work my butt off, I can be promoted to Assistant Buyer within a year :). If you don't understand what that means, it's basically awesome. I will be working under the Senior Buyer for Sam's Club under the paper department (which is located next to the pet department!!).<br />
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In most departments, there is a Merchandising Assistant, Assistant Buyer, Buyer, Senior Buyer, and then the VP. In my department, there is only the Merchandising Assistant, Senior Buyer, and the VP. Hopefully, if I work hard, I will be able to move up the ranks! I really excited to learn new things and to get my feet wet in the business field.<br />
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My start date is May 14, which is in 3 weeks! That means we have 3 weeks to pack, move, and move in to our new place. Michael and I have been so blessed because there hasn't been a period of time where I wasn't employed. I'm so grateful that we have this new opportunity and that Michael also has a great job waiting for him for June. The next couple weeks are going to be hard and stressful, but we're excited for our new adventure in Arkansas. <br />
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I think the hardest thing about leaving is all the people we are going to miss so much. We already had some friends leave so that's been weird. I love and adore everyone I work with so I'm going to miss all our jokes and cracking fun at students ;). My heart is going to rip in half when I leave my young women. I've never really liked my callings in church, mainly because I don't feel like I do much, but my young women's calling was a god-send. The young women are all amazing and I'm so grateful I've had the chance to get to know them. The young women leaders have been amazing friends and mentors. Sometimes I felt more like one of the young women than an actual leader haha. I look up to all of them and to all my friends. Michael and I aren't social creatures, we like to be lazy, but we have made some of the best of friends.<br />
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I'm nervous to move where I barely know anyone, but I've done it before so I can do it again. And this time I'll have Michael with me... so it'll be interesting. I love you all and we will miss everyone so much!Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-48675295639506097452012-04-24T13:04:00.001-07:002012-04-24T13:06:02.041-07:00PinterestWhen things get slow at work and my previous intake of sugar is starting to make my sleepy, I turn to Pinterest, the mother of all things hilarious. My favorite things on Pinterest are the ecards. Here are some of the ones I found today:<br />
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Freakin hilarious. Apparently you can also make your OWN ecards!<br />
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<a href="http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create">http://www.someecards.com/usercards/create</a></div>
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This is my new favorite site (next to Pinterest of course...). I want to make some of my own, but I find that I'm more crude than funny, so maybe I'll avoid making some until I get some stroke of genius. </div>
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Another genius thing I see on Pinterest is this "texts from dog":</div>
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Haha classic... </div>Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-8796973082107947632012-04-19T08:45:00.001-07:002012-04-19T08:45:19.082-07:00GraduationSo google has a new blog outline thing and it's freaking me out. I have no idea what I'm doing... so hopefully this posts? If not, then no one will cry about it which sets my mind at peace.<br />
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My handsome husband of almost 3 years (weird!) is graduating today!! He is suppose to be taking his last final right about now, which will officially make him a college grad! I like to give another shout out to him for finally finishing! (JK sweetheart).<br />
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My stud. How did I get so lucky? No idea. Anywho, he is getting his degree in Chinese with a Business minor. He will be starting his big boy job in June for Walmart in the Merchant Leadership Program. He is more than excited for this opportunity, and I couldn't be happier for him :). He's worked so hard for this and I'm happy that he reached his goal.<br />
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I love you sweetheart! Congrats on graduating!!Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-11003202601939047282012-04-18T10:45:00.002-07:002012-04-18T10:58:32.039-07:00Birthday BashesMichael's birthday was April 4th, but we weren't able to celebrate because I had to leave for Arkansas for an emergency (unexpected) interview. I told him we would celebrate the next weekend, which fit perfectly because my adorable babies, Luke and Leia, turned one April 11!<br />
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It's so weird thinking that we've had Luke and Leia for almost a year! Time has flown by and it feels like we got them yesterday (except when we got them they were little and cute). They're still cute... but just a lot bigger.<br />
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I want to do a spot light for all my favorite people:<br />
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<div style="color: cyan; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Michael</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmM5f1If_pXp3-pWc-deRL2An9b2h_1T8adJJGe7VbV7RyXTpWUeVY-f9WTxx_oRFuzuLjGkRieD__Tf4xM4SLAkwHe90z2UrpZoA3c4O8VRWTKcpmbwhWizm2YDd4VdMKoF8UMrJmek/s1600/michael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmM5f1If_pXp3-pWc-deRL2An9b2h_1T8adJJGe7VbV7RyXTpWUeVY-f9WTxx_oRFuzuLjGkRieD__Tf4xM4SLAkwHe90z2UrpZoA3c4O8VRWTKcpmbwhWizm2YDd4VdMKoF8UMrJmek/s320/michael.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here he is, with his TWO cakes. He really wanted carrot cake, so I made him one with cream cheese frosting (left). I'm not a huge fan of carrot, so I also made a chocolate fudge cake with chocolate frosting (right). Both cakes were amazing (NBD), and I actually preferred the carrot over the chocolate. Anywho, Michael is now 25!! 25 doesn't sound old, but then I think about how he's 5 years from 30!!! Here are some things I love about Michael:<br />
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#1: He can talk your ear off. Literally.<br />
Michael loves to be on wikipedia, learning about anything and everything. Because of this, his brain is full of useless information that he LOVES to share with everyone. I feel bad. When he starts talking about weird things, I tend to tune out and I'm pretty sure he notices (he keeps talking anyway). I want to make sure he knows that I love hearing him babble, he's so cute when he's excited about stuff.<br />
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#2: He loves the dogs.<br />
I'm more than positive that Michael will be an amazing father (when the time comes). He always takes the time to play and hang out with our puppies. Although we might not be on the same page when it comes to spoiling them (all dogs should have a pair of booties...), we are on the same page when it comes to giving them love. Any time we do anything, his first thoughts are on the dogs. He loves to take them hiking and running around with them on the field we go to. He also likes racing them, and usually beats Luke and Chewy. Leia is part gazelle, nothing can beat her.<br />
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#3. He sings every morning.<br />
EVERY morning. No exaggeration there. Most of the time I enjoy hearing him making up lyrics (he never gets them right hahha), but there are some days where he's singing a song that I hate and I know I'll get it stuck in my head forever... so I get cranky on those days. But usually he just belts out songs, and sometimes he tries to sing in Spanish by making up words I've never heard before. So adorable.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Luke</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX42bBE0j1h6pCRVb3nEOmdS9krw2QtEVZ-NO-4FFxyom9MxohG8RMwhbyrxYgPkci4JwC5l6EXlH4RqosUUR9ZBIAhpGg14LSL7HpTs1aJSmz5r6Kv8bAJ9EQsv5QkhrcFz-U0ts9GNk/s1600/luke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX42bBE0j1h6pCRVb3nEOmdS9krw2QtEVZ-NO-4FFxyom9MxohG8RMwhbyrxYgPkci4JwC5l6EXlH4RqosUUR9ZBIAhpGg14LSL7HpTs1aJSmz5r6Kv8bAJ9EQsv5QkhrcFz-U0ts9GNk/s320/luke.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is my stud golden retriever. He's a darker version of a golden, but beautiful nonetheless. He's the happiest dog anyone will ever meet and loves meeting new people and dogs. He's never done anything naughty, except for being a little too excited when meeting people.. Here are some things I love about him:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#1: He's the sweetest boy you'll meet.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Luke is gentle (once he settles down) and loves to be near people. Unlike Chewy or Leia (who demand their presence to be noticed at all times), Luke will calmly approach me and stand next to me until I'm ready to pet him. He always gives me this "I love you Mom" stare that melts my heart and makes me want to smother him in kisses. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#2: He's scared of everything, except for food.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Luke is hilarious because everything scares him. Our friend TJ likes to play dirty tricks on him all the time, so Luke runs toward me whenever he comes around. Any time Michael, TJ, or I have anything in our hand (that's not food), he'll put his tail between his legs and run away. And by "anything in our hand", I literally mean anything. Michael had a sock and he ran from it. I think one time I shook a paper plate at him and he scampered away. Poor thing... he'll never be a guard dog. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#3. He rides shot gun, whether I'm there or not.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Whenever we drive over to the field they like to run in, he will always sit up front with Mom and Dad. Leia and Chewy like to sit in the back, and there's still room for Luke (Chewy is still growing.. yikes), but he prefers the company of sophisticated people (Yes, I'm talking about Michael and me). Whenever Michael brings any of the pups to come pick me up from work, Luke will always be in the front seat looking dashing and handsome. He's hilarious and I love his company up front.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Leia</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVKgOtXoXU21rJha7ypT5m481AXJ9cUUYMVUpK_HQ_JnP4YSIvhnWlvgh0pDRHiJzdXZ41qBJrpmY8BX1rwWj_XWGBXk4vk2hYm7w_WySWKJFuwNIAZOoxJ43w2BZhQzVWB_Gj5Ev9Q4/s1600/Leia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVKgOtXoXU21rJha7ypT5m481AXJ9cUUYMVUpK_HQ_JnP4YSIvhnWlvgh0pDRHiJzdXZ41qBJrpmY8BX1rwWj_XWGBXk4vk2hYm7w_WySWKJFuwNIAZOoxJ43w2BZhQzVWB_Gj5Ev9Q4/s320/Leia.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This is my baby girl. Leia is the most unique dog I have ever had the pleasure to meet (and own- although I've never owned a dog until her). She has more personality and spice than most people. I am just so amazed at how smart and loving this girl is. Here are some things I love about my baby girl:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#1: She's human, so don't tell her otherwise. </div><div style="text-align: left;">I saw this meme a while ago with a picture of a dog with it's head cocked to the side that said, "You mean I'm not peoples?". I immediately thought about Leia because she thinks she's a human. After the first couple months of having her, I remember one time I went to say good night to her and she got up on her hind legs and gave me a hug! She does this all the time now, but I love thinking back to the first time and how weird it was! When I talk to her (yes I have conversations with my dogs, you should to), I feel like she really is listening. Maybe I'm just weird, but I truly think I have a connection with her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#2: She loves people.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Leia may not be excited to meet new people like Luke is, but once she gets comfortable with you, you become her new favorite thing. She loves getting up close and personal really quick haha. One thing she does is she likes to get really close to your face and then likes to smell it. She takes it all in, even the ears. She then likes to attack you with kisses. I think she's learned to only kiss on the mouth from watching Michael and I. She has the sweetest looking eyes (they mislead...) which melt my heart and makes me want to squeeze her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">#3: She is stubborn as HECK!</div><div style="text-align: left;">Honestly, she NEVER listens. It gets frustrating trying to do anything with her because once she has her mind on something, nothing, not even a leash, will stop her. We tell her to get off the counter 400x's a day. We tell her to not jump on people 100x's a day. We tell her to calm down and relax 1000x's a day. We tell her to get off the sofa 500x's a day. It's all repetition with Leia, but she never gets it. I sometimes wonder if she really is related to Michael, because they're the same way ;). I tell him to put his socks away 300x's a day. I tell him to pick up his shows 600x's a day. The similarities are amazing. Anywho, even with all her stubbornness and inability to learn (more like she doesn't want to or care to learn), she is still my beautiful baby girl and I love her because she's hilarious. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I love my family and I'm so grateful to have each of them in my lives. I'm so glad that we were able to celebrate their special days and make them feel special because they are :). If you made it this far, congrats!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Even though it's not his birthday, I can't leave this little guy out:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElhxCup7XG5mjbpxh5ldMVozkxgzEZLsTOuzPtX7ZC6LOQq38IFeW_pibriej12Y2WN3fgUYkYefyBrL2l0MWBz35llwU_tc8r_os540NsEHS3o-n3H5ulsorif8s-qN_WpmdVv6ZYtY/s1600/chewy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElhxCup7XG5mjbpxh5ldMVozkxgzEZLsTOuzPtX7ZC6LOQq38IFeW_pibriej12Y2WN3fgUYkYefyBrL2l0MWBz35llwU_tc8r_os540NsEHS3o-n3H5ulsorif8s-qN_WpmdVv6ZYtY/s320/chewy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">He's huge, slobbery, barks a lot, and thinks biting is a form of showing love. Nevertheless, he is our little baby boy and we love him to pieces. Look at that face!!!!</div>Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-41828535511055047642012-04-06T19:22:00.000-07:002012-04-06T19:22:09.432-07:00FrustrationsSo the other day, BYU had a gay student panel and now everyone is talking about it. Let me get one thing straight: I don't hate gays. I grew up around them and love the ones I know, but not because they are gay. I love the gay people I know because they are cool people. I also know some gay people I don't really like. Again, NOT because they are gay, but because they are stupid and rude. Surprisingly, I also don't really like some straight people. Not because they are straight, but because they are weird.<br />
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One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when people talk about their sexuality like it's the only quality/characteristic they are. Here is my message to all gays who push the gay-agenda:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"> I DON'T CARE THAT YOU'RE GAY</span></div><br />
I don't. I never have. I don't want to know if people are gay. It's not because I hate gays or gays make me uncomfortable. It's because IT DOESN'T MATTER. Why do people make videos about being gay? Why do people have to push their gay-agenda down everyone's throats? It's like religion. I don't care what religion you are. I don't push my religion down your throats, so don't push yours down mine. I think people are annoying and self-centered. Keep your lives TO YOURSELVES. Live your life the best way possible and stop thinking that everyone wants to know about all the injustices you've been through because of something that's different about you. Just shut the hell up about it because it's making everyone think you're stupid.<br />
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If you hate me because of this, let me know. I'll get my tissues and cry about how horrible my life is because someone stupid hates me.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-22455239796558378712012-03-30T15:58:00.000-07:002012-03-30T15:58:37.279-07:00Registration WeekRemind me to NEVER work during registration week...<br />
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I swear, I spoke to almost half the students at BYU this week (exaggeration, but honestly, I spoke to A TON OF PEOPLE).<br />
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Anywho, this Monday I went to see Hunger Games by myself since Michael was in Arkansas. It was freakin AWESOME. Sorry for all the cap'd words.. I'm just really excited it's Friday since I won't have to answer phones or respond to emails for a weekend. But seriously, that movie is so good and so true to the book. I still stand by my last statements about the changes they should have made, but w/e.<br />
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I found this pin today and I cracked up because it reminds me of me:<br />
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Seriously everyone... it's a miracle I don't actually attempt to do all the murderous things I voice out loud. Good thing cake exists, because if not, not being a violent psychopath would be hard.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-62553266098297914342012-03-23T08:37:00.000-07:002012-03-23T08:37:57.610-07:00FinallyOK, where to start?<br />
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I think it's bad to judge a "book-to-movie" movie after only seeing it once because the first time anyone ever sees it, the only thing they pay attention to is how closely it matches the book. If I were to rate Hunger Games on how well it matched the book, I would give it a 10. I thought they did an amazing job keeping the flow of the book, but it wasn't perfect.<br />
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First off, I love action movies. I love seeing cool fighting scenes and awesome blood baths. Hunger Games is a violent book so I expected lots of blood and dark scenes with children killing children. Unfortunately, they played that down a lot. People still died, but it wasn't as brutal as I imagined it (and my mind is pretty altered on that part....). I wanted to see Rue with a spear through her gut, but all I got was a scene with her pulling a spear out and then falling into Katniss' arms. The scene itself was sad and they did a good job making it heart-wrenching, but I never saw the spear actually hit Rue. And then Marvel.... he was suppose to be shot through the neck, but he got shot in the stomach. I wanted to see his crippled body with a freakin arrow through his neck. There are other parts like that where they tone down the brutality, and I understand why they would (since they're catering to a young audience), but I think it makes the whole "fight the evil Capitol" less exciting. I think people need to see how violent and gory the arena is to appreciate why the districts need to fight against the Capitol.<br />
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Another thing that bothered me was how they displayed the career tributes. In the book they are portrayed as stone cold killers with their only objective being to kill everyone and win. I think they looked the part (minus Clove... she looks like a wiener), but they showed them running through the forest giggling and having a good time. I can't picture Cato giggling like he did in the movie. Cato lives to kill, not to be buddy-buddy with the other career tributes. I thought they could have made them more blood thirsty and intense to show how brain washed they are by the Capitol. Instead, I had to watch 4 careers skipping and laughing at each other like a bunch of BYU freshmen going on a camping trip for the first time. Ugh.<br />
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The last thing that bothered me was how they down played the romance between Katniss and Peeta. I was waiting in anticipation for all the sweet lines Peeta tells Katniss and half of them never happened! The cave scenes themselves were short and over looked. I think the moments when they were together were good and they got some of the chemistry there, but for the most part, I wanted more. I wanted Peeta to lean over to Katniss when she first finds him and whisper, "It's OK to kiss me." But no. Nothing. I wanted to separation between them when they got back home to be more intense and to really display "the boy with the bread was slipping from me". But that wasn't really there either. I wanted President Snow to really show his anger at Katniss for her shenanigans, but he just says a small thing that doesn't really represent how furious he was in the book.<br />
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Anywho, in all, apart from the things above, the movie was really good. I want to see it again and just enjoy it for what it is (versus critiquing it according to the book). I think I'll enjoy it much more the second time. I hope I don't deter anyone from seeing it. Honestly, GO SEE IT. I loved it, but I think that if they made some minor tweeks, then it would have been better. It's a dark story and I think they stuck to that to some degree. They should have made this movie darker because I think that having a darker beginning makes the ending so much brighter. <br />
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P.S.<br />
I'm only going to eat sweets once a week. I get so sluggish when I eat sweets.... so I'd rather feel good during the day than enjoy a sweet delicacy. We'll see how long that lasts...Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843973328726333428.post-11449364709789502122012-03-22T14:36:00.002-07:002012-03-22T14:39:49.515-07:00Hunger Games Part 3So apparently I have a blog titled "Hunger Games" and "Hunger Games Part 2"... completely forgot until I was writing the title.<br />
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Anywho, so I made my Hunger Games cupcakes! And I made A TON of them... so now I have to distribute. The frosting looks nothing like the cool picture I showed earlier, but it still looks "lava-ish" so it's cool. And they taste pretty dang awesome if I may say so myself. I was able to snag some pre-screening tickets at 7:30 tonight. The seats are assigned so I don't have to worry about waiting in a line or having a "Hunger Games" for seats before the actual movie. I'm so grateful, and they only cost $10!! This movie is getting better and better and I haven't even seen it yet.<br />
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Yesterday after work was super fun! (mark sarcasm). I got home by myself (Michael was in class) and I went around trying to get the dogs ready for a walk since some stupid kids were playing "baseball" at the field we usually go to. While I was getting them ready, I found all of them drinking our 2nd bathroom toilet water! They BARELY left any..... so while I was trying to get them out of the bathroom, Leia snuck downstairs and started chowing down on half a pizza that Michael left out. By the time I got to her, it was nasty and shredded to pieces. For punishment, I decided to stick her in her cage while I took the other two idiots on a walk and while I was locking her cage, I heard the garage door close. I went to try and open it, but my luck never gets far. It was obviously locked, along with all the other doors in my house. So there I was, sitting in my garage with Leia while Luke and Chewie were doing who knows what inside.<br />
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Basically, not-so-funny things happen all the time when I'm left with the dogs by myself. But I love them. I mean, look at this picture:<br />
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How can you not swoon and die over the little chunk of fur on the left?!! I want to breed Chewie... because I want little puppies like that running around me. And they're still cute when they're full grown :) just a lot heavier. And furrier. And slobbery-er. <br />
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Speaking about furrier, I found this today and thought about this one time when I went to the mall with Sister Mackay and Terann with a black hoodie on that was covered in dog hair. Sister Mackay asked me if I had previously rolled in dog fur before coming out. My response was (with an innocent expression), "Is that not normal?".<br />
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I love dogs. And Hunger Games. If only I could bring my dogs to the pre-screening, then life would be pretty outstanding.Paola Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05425310290677922649noreply@blogger.com0