Spring is on its way back!

Where does time go anymore? I looked at Tyson this morning and had to convince myself of the truth - he will be 7 years old in two months! That makes me sad that he's getting so old. At the same time, he's doing pretty well for a "49-year old."

I had such a productive, fun day off last Tuesday. Will I be able to top it today? Doubt it. The weather has become much more beautiful and warm as the day has progressed. However, it still could be warmer (frost on the ground when I woke up). Last Tuesday, the dogs and I started our day with a long walk around the neighborhood. Then I spent an hour cleaning out our landscaping and trimming back bushes. I took some pictures of the pretty flowers popping up everywhere and the buds on all the trees and bushes. Our plants are coming back to life! The only ones showing no sign of life as of yet are the Rose of Sharon tree and bush. Even my Clematis survived! :) Next, the boys went to "The Mommy's Full Service Spa" (aka. Me) to get their nails trimmed and teeth brushed. They got new, clean bandannas, they got brushed outside with the shedding blade, and they each got a doggy breath mint. Later, the boys and I got out the lawn agility equipment and practiced. They were rewarded with a Beef flavored PupSicle. Yum! I think that's about all we did for the day. And the evening was topped off by an excellent American Idol. A lot of doggy fun and time outside made me very happy!

We were also treated to a wrestling match show from the doggies.

The rest of the week was typical. Allie came home with me on Friday after work. We ate dinner at Vaquero's - wow, I love chips and cheesy dip. We stopped at Kroger for some Ben & Jerry's magic. Then she spent the night. I also picked up extra hours at CSCC on Saturday morning, while Allie borrowed my car to head to the state DI competition. (Aren't I a nice sister?) The rest of Saturday, I literally didn't move my butt from the couch. I was working on photos and completely re-doing my photo website. That is close to being semi-done, if that makes sense. Saturday night we watched "Firehouse Dog" and SNL with cutie Ashton Kutcher. Allie didn't return back until about midnight, so she spent the night again and I took her home on my way to work Sunday morning.

Alas, good news on the PetSmart front. They have finally confirmed that I will only have 4 more Sundays to work, then my weekends will be free again! That's been a long time coming and I can't be more happy! I will be taking over Tuesday nights, but now that we have DVR, that is much better than working every Sunday of my life... all... day... long. Let the countdown begin!

Sunday night I worked on my F/2 Aperture project. I also played around with my tri-pod and here is the result! Not too bad for a self-portrait - only took two tries.

So far today I've finally read chapter 1 for my photo class and taken the quiz (which I earned 100%). I'm working on chapter 2. My project this week is to take a unique photo of an egg. Lucky me - Adam bought eggs at the store this week! I scheduled a few in-home visits with clients with the tutoring company I contract with (I'm helping them out temporarily this week). I also found that the water pressure had completely escaped our kitchen, then as I went to take a shower, found that there is NO water!! I called the city, panicked. Fortunately, they are only cleaning the hydrants. So, I'm ridin' skanky today. :) I played frisbee with Brutus for a while because he was driving Tyson and me up a wall.

In about 7 minutes I'm leaving to head to Sharon Woods park with the boys for a quick hike. I also hope to find some blooms or landscapes to take pretty pictures of. Then we are heading to the vet for a check-up. Both boys will be getting their teeth cleaned el pronto. And as soon as that's done, our deck guy will be coming so we can sign the contract. Yay! We're getting really excited about that. Ta-ta for now!

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Now I'm back. Here are some scenes from the park. It was so quiet and peaceful there!

A busy week is ahead - tomorrow I work at PetSmart, then have to pick up contracts at the tutoring office, then have agility class, then have to head straight to the tutoring in-home visit. Then it's Ghost Hunters and Idol night! Thursday will be a normal day, but Friday I have to drive to Cincy and back for a retreat for my diversity consulting company. AND, on the way home have to conduct my other tutoring visit. Saturday morning I work again and my parents are coming for an overnight visit. And Sunday, we start the routine all over again with work, work, work... Time for some cornhole in the back yard now!