A Dog Is A Man's Best Friend

Meet our dog Gizmo. She just turned six years old in February and she's our little child. She may be one of the smartest dogs I've ever seen in my life. We have a doggy door in the living room under a window so that she can come in and out of the house as she pleases. This makes it VERY easy to have a dog. We don't have to leave somewhere early to let the dog outside to use the bathroom, she just goes whenever she wants.



Gizmo absolutely LOVES my bed in our spare bedroom, as evidenced by the picture above. This picture is my background on my phone. She is so stinkin adorabe :) Since I've been living at this house, she has learned that when she wakes up early in the morning to go use the bathroom, I have to let her out of the bedroom, since her doggy door is in the living room. She has figured out that since I'm already awake due to having to get up to let her out, I usually get up to go to the bathroom myself. Over time, she started trying to trick me. This morning, she got up to let me know she had to go outside, so I opened the door to let her out and she stuck her head out the doggy door to make some noise in order to make me think she was going outside. Anyway, I got up and went to the bathroom and when I came back she was laying on both of my pillows on my side of the bed. She does this all the time. She knows that if she makes just enough noise by the doggy door, I'll think she's gone outside and that it's safe for me to go to the bathroom. She just wants to steal my side of the bed. She think's she is so funny.



This is where she sleeps every night. Actually, she has a tendency to sleep above my head in a semi-circle around my head. She loves the pillows ;) Gizmo is a 90 pound dog, but will not sleep anywhere but in the bed with mommy and daddy...and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Flashback Friday - The City of Angels

Last week I did the flashback on a city...and I will again this week :)

Back in 2004, I went for a week to visit my college roomie in Los Angeles. This wasn't my first time to be in LA. When I was a senior in high school, the Hoover High School band along which included the dance team and majorettes were asked to perform in the Hollywood Christmas parade. Not only was that my first time to Los Angeles, but it was also my first time to be on a plane!

Anyway, my friend Ashleigh still lives in LA and visiting her again is on my list of 101 things to do. I went once in 2004 to see her and then again in 2005. The pictures below are from both times, I think. I just had a "LA" picture folder on my computer and didn't distinguish which pictures were from which time period.



This is at City Walk. I LOVED LOVED LOVED City Walk. So many shops and fun things to do!



A girl can't go all the way to LA and not go to Melrose ;)



This is me and Ashleigh at the Chinese theater



Exploring downtown. This is where all the accounting firms are. I know, I know. I'm a dork.



This is from the 405...the busiest interstate I have ever in my life been on



I heart this picture



Yep, we went to Laguna :)



The beach at Laguna Beach



The city of Laguna Beach



This made my day!

And that wraps up my two LA trips. Justin and I do want to go out there not only to see Ashleigh again, but also to climb Mt. Whitney, the 2nd tallest mountain in the US, but the tallest in the lower 48 :)

#91 - CHECK!

You may or may not have noticed that I changed the books that are listed to the right of my blog under "Currently Reading" and "On Deck". This is because I have already finished the original two that were there. The "currently reading" was ManHunt by James Swanson. It took me FOREVER to read this book. I don't know if it was because I already knew how it ended or because I was busy between working longer hours during busy season and focusing on P90X when I got home. Either way, it took me almost 3 months to finish that book.

ManHunt is about the 12 day chase of John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theater. I wanted to read it because Lincoln is one of my favorite US Presidents and I wanted to know more about what happened. I mean, everyone knew that he was shot, JWB ran through Washington, Maryland and into Virginia and finally was shot himself, but I wanted to know more detail about it. It was a great book. Don't let the fact that it took me so long to read it discourage you from picking it up off the shelf. It was an awesome book and James Swanson has really done his research! Anyway, back to the 101 List.

Number 91 on my list was to read a Nicholas Sparks love story. I'd never read a book by Nicholas Sparks before and didn't even see the movie the Notebook until about 2 years ago. My choice was Dear John, which is what was on the "on deck" column to the right. I finished ManHunt on Thursday night and started Dear John on Friday. I finally finished Dear John at 1:00am on Sunday morning. I think that may be a record for me. It took me less time to read Dear John than it did to read Twilight, my favorite book ever, however, in Twilight's defense, it was much longer and when I started reading it, I was out of town for several days and could only read here or there. I'm about to go into my opinion on Dear John so if you plan on reading it, you may want to stop here.

I think I may never read another Nicholas Sparks book again. As much as I loved it, I hated it. I hated the ending. I don't know if its because I'm such a sappy person that likes happy endings, but even more than that, I hated that it ended badly for someone who was fighting so hard for our country in its time of need. John only had two things going for him in his life, his dad and Savannah, and he lost both. Savannah was what kept him alive in Iraq and as soon as I read the sentence "I'm in love with someone else" I wanted to throw the book across the room. I will say, however, that Mr. Sparks did an excellent job of giving you a mental picture of what its like to be a soldier in love stationed far away from the that person and you only get a few weeks out of every year to see them. It's heartbreaking and it actually made me cry. The book did give me a HUGE respect for the wives and husbands of those in Iraq fighting for our country that support their spouses and wait for them. If every soldier was as heartbroken as John because his love didn't wait for him, we may have to bring brack the draft because no one would volunteer to be in that much pain and agony. I'm torn on whether or not to see the movie. I know that the movie has a happier ending, but I don't know that I'll be able to get out of my mind what "really happened".

So I have replaced my upcoming books with The Reliable Wife and House Rules, both of which I am really excited to read! I'll let you know if they're good or not :) Happy Monday!

Hiking in Oak Mountain

On Saturday, Justin and I along with our friends Tiffany and Trevor Lobdell decided to do a hike in Oak Mountain. It was a gorgeous day so it was a perfect time to take the top off of the jeeps (the Lobdell's have a jeep also) and take the dogs out for a hike. We did a three hour hike to the highest point in the park. Here's some pics of the day:

















Afterwards, we all went home and showered and had an early dinner at Sumo since none of us had lunch and then went to meet our friends the Williamsons (with baby BR in tow who I swear smiled at me!) and Rob at the bowling alley. It was a pretty awesome weekend overall. I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow but I'm happy that AGAIN I probably won't be working on Saturday. It's been such an unusual year for us this year. We haven't had any 60 hour weeks and working on Saturdays has been optional. Luckily for me, I've been able to get my workloads done during the week so I haven't had to work a single Saturday yet! Only 25 more days until April 15th!!! We get the Friday after the 15th off every year and Justin and I have decided to make that our diving day. We haven't been able to dive at ABWA during the winter because of the cold, but it should be pretty warmed up by then. Then the next weekend is Bonnie and Andrew's joint bachelor/bachelorette party at the beach. Can't wait!!!

Flashback Friday - New York City

In December 2007, I thought of the perfect Christmas gift for my mom...I took her to New York City!!! She had never been and, at the time, I was planning on moving there. Other than living the fabulous life in NYC, the reason I wanted to move was actually work related. I always wanted to get my CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner). The only place you can really work as a CFE in the US other than Washington DC was in New York (lots of fraud goes through there, obviously). I loved the idea of working in a department that puts people like Scrushy behind bars. So I actually had an ulterior motive in taking her. She knew I was beginning the interview process with some firms in NYC and she WASN'T a happy camper about me moving to New York City by myself. I guess it didn't matter that I moved to Nashville by myself without knowing a soul, but I think she was okay with that because at least it was in driving distance. Either way, my mom wasn't happy because she didn't like me being so far away in the biggest city in the US all by my lonesome. So in an attempt to make her feel better about me living in a city with tragic stereotypes, I took her there for a week at the beginning of December. Here's some pics of our trip:



This is my mom and I on the top floor of the Empire State Building



This is at Ellis Island where the immigration museum is. Love the city in the background.



This is in central park. I have no idea why, but it's one of my favorite pictures.



My mom and I went ice skating at Wolman Rink in central park. So.Much.Fun!



The joys of being in NYC at Christmas can't be beat. Lights were everywhere and everything was decorated. We even got the chance to go see this bad boy....



We didn't make it to the actual lighting ceremony. It happened while we were there, but there was SOOOO many people and we didn't feel like fighting such a crowd so we came back the next night to see it.



This is at Trinity Graveyard. I went to this church last time I was in New York, but I didn't go into the graveyard until this time. It was BEAUTIFUL!



Last time I was in New York I went with a bunch of Accounting and Marketing majors that were all in a GBA class with me. My good buddy Edria was in the class too and we had a BLAST at this bar one night. It was our favorite. I think it's been closed now though.



This is the other favorite picture of mine. Something we were NOT expecting to happen while we were there was to experience the City's first snow of the season. We woke up the morning of our last day in NYC and the ground was covered in a couple of inches of white heaven :) I was SO excited to see snow in Central Park (in case you can't tell by the picture).



Me and my momma enjoying Central Park in the snow. I think Central Park was my mom's favorite thing. Either that or the Mary Poppins play that we went to see. We didn't have time to see the Rockettes while we were there, but that was my Christmas present to her the next year. We saw them at the BJCC, AMAZING!!

By the end of the week, my mom was feeling a bit better about me moving there. She realized I knew the subways lines very well and how to get around in the city in general. I showed her some apartments that I was looking into, some in Queens, some in Brooklyn. She was not a fan of those, but the image in her head of Queens and Brooklyn started to change to be more realistic instead of what you see in the movies. I remember on the plane ride back she said "okay I guess you can move there". However, four months later I started dating Justin and all those plans went down the drain. Not that I regret my decision to move back to Birmingham instead of to New York by any means, I just sometimes wish I would have done it, even if it was for just a year. New York is still my favorite city in the world and no matter where I go from here on out, I don't think anything is going to change that. She has my heart :)

Going back to New York City is something on my 101 List. I plan to go back with Carina, one of my besties that lives in Tuscaloosa. The original plan was to go this December, but since Justin and I pushed up our Africa trip, that is pretty much impossible due to funds :) I do want to go with her though and I'm hoping to go next spring sometime. And speaking of the 101 List, how awesome is it that all my friends are doing one?!?!?!?! I mentioned in an earlier blog that Tiffany is doing one. I saw last night where my friend Allison has made one as well. This is so exciting!! I hope everyone enjoys crossing things off the list like I do :) I also added (and deleted) two things from my list. I added to finish the P90X program because that is SERIOUSLY a huge accomplishment, trust me. And I also added taking Anderson to the Atlanta aquarium. My mom and I are doing that sometime in the next month or so. Anderson LOVES fish and at the Atlanta aquarium they have some HUGE ones...like a whale shark. Justin and I both want to go diving with the whale shark at the aquarium. They let you for like $300 per person or something. Maybe I should add that to the list. Hmmmm....

A Few Updates

My busy season is starting to slow down, thankfully. Although, we actually haven't been all that busy. I may actually be able to say that I went through an entire busy season without working a single Saturday. All the CPA's out there know how unheard of that is. Have I mentioned that I love my firm??

I have apparently inspired my BF Tiffany to do a 101 List. You can see her list HERE. She did a condensed version and as of now, her list has 71 things on it instead of 101. I'm hoping to help her explore more possibilities and add to her list to get it up to 101 soon. She actually has a lot of things on her list that are on mine as well, which is awesome because we can mark them off together :)

Next topic, workouts. I have started the P90X program. I am IN LOVE with it. I'm in the middle of my second week and I can ALREADY see results! I am not following the food plan that it suggests, but I am more or less doing my own food plan. I've started expanding my horizons on veggies. I've added broccoli to my list of sides for meals, which is probably shocking to those of you who know me best. In order to not die from pain while doing the workouts, I have decided to keep up with my protein intake. I've started using the Special K protein mixers with my water and they are FABULOUS! My fav is the strawberry kiwi flavor. This is actually useful for me (getting use to flavored water) because when we're in Africa, we have to drop tablets in our water that makes it clean. The downside of that process is that it makes the water taste bad, so our guides have suggested bringing flavored water packets.

Back to the actual P90X workout. I mean....WOW! A day hasn't gone by that I haven't been sore, but I am absolutely loving it. So far I think my favorite workout is the Kenpo workout. It's kind of a mix between boxing, karate, and self-defense. My least favorite so far is Plyometrics. Plyometrics means "jump training" and that is all you do for 58 minutes. JUMP. You would be surprised how quickly your legs wear out. My heart rate doesn't go below 150 during that entire workout and it's the one where I burn the most calories, usually around 700. In the words of Tony Horton "I hate it....but I love it".

While keeping a goal to workout more and eat better, I must admit I have been doing AMAZING with my New Years resolution. I made a resolution to drink more water. On average, a person should be drinking about 2 liters or so a day. The P90X workouts help me make this goal. I usually drink one liter while at work, another liter during my workout, and maybe an additional bottle/glass afterwards. This is incredible for a person who, while in high school and college, drank 6 Mountain Dew's a day and NEVER drank any water at all. I love my new found favorite drink. Downside - I have to pee every five seconds. It's annoying.

Next topic, Africa. If you're getting annoyed by the constant talk of Africa, I'm gonna need you to get over it and look elsewhere for the next year. Climbing Kilimanjaro is the biggest and hardest thing Justin and I have ever done (at this point at least) and there are seriously no words than can express my excitement. I'm like a four year old that won't go to sleep because I am waiting to see what Santa is going to bring me. No joke. Justin and I had to fill out applications for our guide company in order to even be allowed to go on the expedition. We got an email yesterday that we were both approved and our names are on the list and we are officially part of the 2010 Kilimanjaro Christmas climb team. What's funny is that on the application, there's a section that you have to fill out explaining how you will be training for the climb. I get amused at the fact that some people with ZERO climbing or hiking experience think you can climb that without rigorous training. I'm guessing that's why IMG (our guides) put that section on the application.

I certainly think the P90X will be a massive help, especially on the legs. My 90 days for this go around will be up around mid-June. However, I will be pulling these bad boys back out come October so that I know I'm fit and trained enough to climb the mountain. Another thing Justin and I will be doing to help train us is carrying about 20+lbs of weight in our day packs and go hiking in Oak Mountain or various other places. If we had a stair climber at home, I would throw on the weighted pack and stay on it for about an hour, but we don't own one and I don't really want to get funny looks at the gym.

That's about it for now. Until next time...

Boredom...

Justin and I are sitting on the couch watching a few TV shows all at the same time (yes, I'm that psycho that changes channels when commercials come on because I cannot watch commercials), and I was looking at some blogs and I found a fun little survey on a blog I was reading. It reminds me of my Top 5 blogpost I did. I like doing things like this because I think it's fun to go back in 5 years or so and see how much I've changed. Here it goes...

Age: 26, will be 27 in a month :(

Bed size: King

Chore I hate: Cleaning baseboards

Dog's name: Gizmo

Essential to start my day: Diet Mountain Dew

Favorite color: Changes frequently...right now I'm digging green

Gold or silver: Silver all the way. Not a fan of gold.

Height: 5'4"

I am: hurting from chest and back from P90X tonight

Job: CPA (Certified Public Accountant)

Kids: First Africa, then we'll talk kids

Living arrangements: Me, the Hubs and the Giz

Mom's name: Sharon

Nickname: Marfie, Bay

Overnight hospital stay: Last one was in February 2004, can't remember before that

Pet peeve: People that aren't grateful for what they have. Life can always be worse people. Appreciate what God gave you and know He has a plan.

Quote from a movie: "You look like a bunch of retards humping a doorknob" ~ Dodgeball, best movie ever

Siblings: 2 pretty awesome sisters

Time I wake up: During busy season, 6am. Outside of busy season, 6:30am (huge difference, I know)

Unique thing about my car: My cross hanging from the rearview mirror was the only thing not completely crushed in my car accident that totaled my Honda. Does God work in mysterious ways or what?!?!?

Vegetable I hate: Asparagus

Reasons I run late: Either I forget to set my alarm, or hit snooze

X-rays I've had: Teeth, Arm, Wrist, Legs

Yummy food I make: I suck at cooking.

Zoo favorite: Giraffes and monkeys

Is It Really Spring Already?

Had no idea these bad boys were in the backyard....

Lindsey Smith Photography

My sister has a new blog for her photography business!!!! She's worked so hard to make it perfect. Give it a visit and book her! She mainly does baby and children portraits, but she's done engagements, weddings, and senior portraits.

Lindsey Smith Photography

Flights are booked!

A couple of days ago, I was at work and working a little late. Around 6:30pm I took a break and looked on facebook and saw that Justin made a status update. I'm always intrigued by his status updates because he very rarely gets on facebook and makes any. His status said that he had booked our flights to Africa! I love each time we take another step forward in this process. Another step is coming this weekend when we mail in our already filled out applications and deposits to International Mountain Guides, the company we chose to take us on the climb of Kilimanjaro and the safari in the Serengeti.

There is one form that we don't have to fill out until later, which is the physician's form. We have to go to a doctor and get the doctor to say that we're physically fit to climb the mountain along with getting shots for yellow fever and malaria. I can't wait to see how Justin does at the doctor. I've never seen someone so scared of needles or doctors in general in my entire life!

Strangely enough, Justin and I are on seperate flights within the US before going to Amsterdam. I am flying from Bham to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Detroit while Justin flies directly to Detroit. We had to do this in order to use miles for my ticket and for Justin to use his upgrade certificate for him to have first class to Amsterdam. And we do have the exact same seats that we had going to Hawaii. I remember enjoying those seats so much on that plane that 8 hours flew by and before we knew it we were there! I leave at 9am on December 17 and Justin leaves around 11am, but we meet in Detroit within minutes of eachother. Our flight from Detroit to Amsterdam is overnight (thank God) and we'll be in Amsterdam at 8am the next morning. We haven't booked our hotel in Amsterdam yet, but we've been looking into which one we want. There are two that we really like. They are....



Hotel De l'Europe



And the Hotel InterContinental Amstel

Of course I'm sure these options will change in the coming months, but we saw these two out of the same book we used to book our hotel in Hawaii.

IMG had this video on their website of a climb they did a while back. It's pretty much in a nutshell what Justin and I will be doing and where we'll be going. It even shows the couple making the video in Amsterdam ;) We will see all the same stuff you see in this video including the towns they go through, the hotel in Moshi (which is where we're staying..."hotel" is a loose term for it though), and even the wicked awesome Kilimanjaro song at the end sung by the porters. Can't wait!!! The numbers and names on the screen that come up frequently are the location on the mountain and how many feet that place is at. The mountain is a whopping 19,340 feet tall, only 9,689 feet shorter than Everest :)