blue
Happy Birthday, my sweet baby Blue!
34 months ago
My baby boy Blue turns 3 today! Where did the time go? The day we brought him home, he was a little ball of fur, all puppy, with that pink puppy belly, sweet puppy breath and tiny little kisses, and already a snuggler. To this day, he is still a snuggler, just a much bigger one. He has such a big personality and is quite the ham. He loves everyone and going for rides makes him so happy. Taking him the park is always a treat he looks forward to. He loves to pose for pictures and will give you kisses, or “love”, all day long. I adore my little boy. There are days he drives me insane with his craziness but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Happy Birthday, Blue!! We love you!!
I was going to get him a puppy cake for his birthday but since he is sick and on a restricted diet, the puppy cake will have to wait! But there will be extra snuggles all around today and since he can’t be alone, he will get to spend the whole day with me.
Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday?
Thankful Thursday
126 months ago
What I am thankful for today…
My hubby…. I am such a lucky girl to have him in my world. He loves and adores me and stands beside me as we make our way through this world, no matter how hard or easy it may seem at any given time. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find him but I would be absolutely lost without him.
A roof over our head…. This month marks 9 years in our home and there are times it still feels like we just moved in. It’s not the perfect house and we have a list a mile long of things we want to do, and realistically may never get to do, but it’s our home. When we’re home at night, curled up on our comfy couch watching TV, with Blue and Ozzie snuggling with us, there’s no place I’d rather be.
Family… I have an amazing support system in all that I do and I am fortunate to have family behind me. You know who you are and I love you all.
My health…. Sure, I have a love/hate relationship with my body and I have aches and pains that sometimes seem too much to bear, but I am so very lucky to be healthy. (***knock on wood***)
My friends…. Old friends, new friends, and in between – you all bring something special to my life.
My mommy…. I’m 40 years old and yes, I still call her Mommy. Somehow she endures working with me and seeing me 5 out of 7 days a week, sometimes even more. She is one of my biggest supporters. She is more than my mom, she is my friend.
My mom’s health…. After quite the scare earlier this year, my mom is thankfully cancer-free after surgery.
38 years worth of memories of my dad…. I am so blessed that nothing was left unsaid and he knew how much I loved (love) him. All the memories over the years have more meaning now since his passing and there are days when I remember something that I had put away in the way-back of my memory bank. It’s amazing how memories can come rushing back. I am so thankful to have those memories that are all mine.
My two crazy dogs…. Yes, there are days that Blue and Ozzie test every bit of patience I have and I swear they will be the death of me, but I love them and can’t imagine not having them here to drive me nuts. I love snuggling with them and taking them for rides and showing them off to everyone who thinks they are the coolest dogs ever. They are our babies.
Sunsets, beaches, and the beautiful area we live in…. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day stuff but all it takes is a walk or run at the park or beach, or a drive along the gulf, or an evening out for a sunset and I am quickly reminded how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful state.
What are you thankful for today?
Weekend Bliss
77 months ago
by Nanci
in anniversary, blue, book, daily mile, dinner, Eagle Lake Park, hubby, Ozzie, run, starbucks, walk
Yesterday was such a great day. Besides the fact that it was our 11th anniversary, hubby and I spent the day together. I took a lot of pictures yesterday so sit back and enjoy! Hubby gave me a beautiful card for our anniversary. He always buys the sweetest cards….
We started the day with a 3.50 mile walk. There was much excitement on this walk for me because I actually ran a little. I’ve been thinking about running and wondering what would happen. I was so happy, there was no pain at all. Yay!! I ran about 3 blocks total, certainly not a lot, but I also don’t want to overdue it. I’ll work my way back into it.
After our walk, we went home and loaded Blue and Ozzie in the car for a trip to Starbucks. Yes, my boys are incredibly spoiled and they know what Starbucks is and get SO excited if we even say the word. Everyone at the Starbucks drive-thru loves Blue and Ozzie and always give them cookies.
Later on, we went to Jimmy John’s for lunch (freaky fast!). I had a Club Lulu unwich, so no bread. I was saving my bread for dinner, so go me! After lunch, we went to Barnes & Noble so I could use a coupon that was burning a whole in my wallet. I couldn’t possibly let a coupon go to waste… There’s never a shortage of books I want to buy and I had this one on my mind…
Then we went to Wal-Mart. I usually dread going to Wal-Mart, but we were on a mission so it was necessary. First on the list was a special Christmas project we are working on which I can’t wait to share as soon as I have all the details in place, so stay tuned for that. We also bought 4 big bottles of bleach to take to the Humane Society of Pinellas, hubby informed me they were running low and were in need. Our handsome Ozzie came from HSP and we have donated items to them in the past. It always feels good to help out when we can.
For our anniversary dinner, we went to Outback Steakhouse. Hubby and I both love steak and shrimp so we were looking forward to it all day. Here we are on our way to dinner. After 11 years, I’ve gotten pretty good at the self-portrait.
You can’t go to Outback and not get a Bloomin’ Onion so of course that was the first thing we ordered. Hubby had a beer and I tried a Blackberry Sangria. I have never had a sangria with apple in it, it was SO good!!
It irritates me that my drink is crooked in this picture but it was the only one I took, so I’ll just have to deal with it. I really enjoyed the Caesar salad, always delicious even though it’s loaded with calories.
My main course was the Victoria Filet and grilled shrimp with baked potato. I loved the tomatoes they served with the shrimp, they had a wonderful basil flavor.
This morning, we had to walk that filling dinner off, so we went for a walk at 6:15. Seems crazy on a Sunday, but there’s not sleeping in here with our two crazy Aussies. I took this picture around 6:45 as the sun was starting to come up.
Our goal was to walk 3.11 miles, but we decided to go for 4 to put us at 15 for the week. After walking around the neighborhood, we ended up at the park for the last mile. It was perfect timing for an amazing picture of the sun coming up over one of the little lakes.
Even better, I took a panoramic shot. So peaceful and serene…. I always feel so lucky to live so close to the park to enjoy views like this.
I also spotted this heart-shaped leaf on the ground. There are trees all over the park with these heart-shaped leaves on them, but I loved this one because it makes me think of fall.
By the time we got home, our walk ended up being 4.20 miles. I ran a little bit of it again, still no pain. Whew! I love logging my miles on DailyMile. If you use DailyMile, be sure to add me as a friend!
It’s been such a great weekend. I am so proud of hubby and I for getting so much walking in this week, 5 mornings total we’ve walked super early. I enjoy the extra time together and love that we are taking care of ourselves. Tomorrow starts another week!
Do you work out with your spouse or significant other? Do you have a routine?
Cuteness Overload
3If you read my blog, or if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know I am a dog lover. We have 2 (TWO!!) Australian Shepherds. They are without a doubt our babies and yes, they are Spoiled with a capital S. My theory is, why have a dog if you’re not going to spoil the heck out of them.
Blue will be 3 in January. He is a handful and a devil. There are days when I am positive he will be the death of me. I have to remind myself that a) he’s still a pup and b) his breed means he needs a job otherwise he is into everything. Since the day we got Blue at 8 weeks old, he has been a snuggler. I’m sure I had something to do with that, but he still does it. There is nothing like snuggling with him, he is so sweet about it. And he’s so warm and soft, and he smells good. Total puppy love there.
Ozzie is 6 and is the total opposite of Blue. Most of the time he is very serious and is not into snuggling like Blue is. He loves car ride and treats. There may or may not be drool involved in either one of those because he gets so excited. He is much calmer and would probably be content laying at my feet all day long. I call him my handsome boy.
This morning, I was on the floor doing my back exercises when Blue laid down in front of me, on his back. I rubbed his belly for a minute thinking he would jump up like he always does. But he didn’t, he stayed there for a good 5 minutes. Of course I had to take a picture, he was just too cute.
I told you…. Cuteness overload. There are some days I just can’t stand his cuteness. My snuggle boy.
Do you take pictures of your dog(s)? Do they like to have their picture taken? If you are on Instagram, be sure to follow me at auntnanci.
Thoughts on Thursday
610 months ago
This morning on my way to work, I stopped at Starbucks. My newest obsession there s the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher. Oh. My. Gosh. It is so yummy and well, refreshing! It’s actually made with Green Coffee Extract, basically taken from a coffee bean while it’s still green, before they are roasted. It has no coffee flavor whatsoever (which I do love), low calories, and NO fat. This drink is perfect for summertime. I even like it better than the Passion Tea Lemonade. One of the things I like the most about it is the whole blackberries they put in it. This drink lasts me a couple hours – as it melts down, I add more ice and it’s still just as yummy. I was enjoying it so much this morning, I had to document it…
In my email today, I received the first two weeks of workouts for the Best Body Bootcamp 2 that starts on Monday. I am really impressed by all the information and how thorough it is. Well worth the $25 entry fee. I printed out everything, including screenshots of the exercises, and I put it all in a binder. No searching for any of it when I need it, I know right where it is. And because I’m kind if a geek, I out it all in a binder and even made a nifty cover for the front of it. I can’t wait to get started.
After having rain off and on everyday this week, I decided to skip out of work a little bit early so I could get home and walk. I decided to take Blue and Ozzie to the park with me. We made it 2 miles before they were ready to keel over and die, but they had a fun time. They so love the park and there is much excitement when we’re getting ready to go. It seemed to take forever to get out the door, and the 2 miles took a really long time to walk with all the stop and start. But I am positive that I also got an upper body workout at the same time. It can be a bit challenging to walk 2 dogs.
Since I like to do at least 3 miles, when we got home from the park, I jumped on the treadmill. I was all hot and sweaty and decided to push myself. I did 1 mile on an incline of 10. Holy quads, did I feel that. It was awesome. I was definitely #fitfluential today!
Hubby is working late tonight so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to cook some lean ground beef, zucchini, and onion. It was very tasty and filling.
I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. As always, I am so ready for the weekend. I need some down time and I hope to get some more miles in !
