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  • This Is Life As A Girl

    I had a fairly busy and stressful week last week, and one of the main reasons was because I had my first test of the semester this morning in pediatric nursing, which is supposed to be one of the hardest classes we take. I spent a lot of time preparing for the test last week, along with various other commitments that I have going on in my life including, but not limited to: my boyfriend, work, book club, church, running, and Bible study.

    So last night, after another long day of meetings and studying, I settled into bed with Cleo lying beside me at my feet. Two nights ago my roommate told me that she left Cleo out of her crate overnight, and there was no damage done. I thought that meant that we were going to keep leaving her out. Last night Cleo slept with me because I decided that she is going to be allowed on my bed, even if she’s not allowed on any other furniture. Right before I closed my eyes I took a good look at Cleo resting beside me and I thought how happy I was to finally have such a sweet dog sleeping beside me. Then I went to sleep.

    Awhile later, I’m not sure how long, my roommate burst into my room and said loudly, “Hey Kathleen?” I jerked awake, and then she started talking. She listed to me all the reasons why she doesn’t want Cleo sleeping in my bed with me. I didn’t think any of her reasons were viable, but in my half-asleep state I wasn’t going to argue. Honestly, I don’t know if I would ever really argue with her. She has a very strong personality. The end result was that Cleo was taken away and put her in her crate. I wanted to cry.

    This morning I got up and went to school. As I was taking the test I thought that it was easier than I expected it to be. However, we were given an answer key afterwards and were able to see how many we missed. Although I passed, I was extremely disappointed in my grade because of the amount that I had studied for the test. Immediately all energy was sucked out of me. I felt low, low, low. I wanted to cry.

    After class I walked to my car, when I realized that I locked my keys inside. Even though I have a spare key underneath, I sure wasn’t making things any easier on myself. When I got home I decided to go to the gym, because exercise usually makes me feel better. I chose a treadmill in front of a TV screen that was showing some football game – Lafayette v. Penn. I like to watch sports when I run because it’s the only thing you don’t need sound to enjoy. Do I care or know anything about these two teams in particular? No. But Lafayette won on a last second field goal, and the whole team was so happy, that – guess what? I wanted to cry. I actually teared up.

    It just may be quite an emotional week.

  • Obsession: Del Monte Fruit Chillers

    My classmate Lauren has been bringing Del Monte Fruit Chillers to lunch almost every school day. I’ve heard her recommend them to several people. So when I was grocery shopping today I picked some up. I’m so glad I did. Obviously I like them enough to dedicate an entire blog post to them. But let me tell you why.

    Buy them on the canned fruit aisle, then freeze them. The result is a cold, creamy, fruity treat. There are three flavors: strawberry, raspberry, and mango. They taste like a smoothie with a slightly more solid consistency. And I LOVE smoothies, so that is a high compliment. Furthermore, they are fat free and have 3/4 of a serving of fruit. Seriously, if you like fruity stuff, you really need to try these!

    No, Del Monte is not paying me to endorse their product. So what if I occasionally obsess about certain things I like? I have previously dedicated entire posts to Mounds bars, Dove body wash, and my washcloth, just off the top of my head. It’s the little things, people.

  • We’re Getting The Hang Of This Dog Thing

    This is such a busy week for me, and I should be studying right now but I somehow have a hard time really focusing on my schoolwork unless I have other little things taken care of. And I just wanted to check in.

    At this moment Cleo is sitting on the floor at my feet IN MY ROOM. This is a huge deal. It is the first time since I’ve had her that she has come into my room on her own and hung out in here. She is kind of weird in that she is afraid of new rooms. For the longest time she wouldn’t go down any halls, into any rooms, or the kitchen. If I tried to walk her in there on a leash she would refuse. So my answer to this was to carry her into the room, make her sit there with me for awhile, and then let her go. Then I waited a few days and I caught her exploring, cautiously, on her own. And now she’s apparently feeling comfortable with it.

    Furthermore, I no longer have to push her up the second set of stairs leading to our apartment. She will walk up on her own, though slowly. And she’s eating completely dry dog food, from her bowl, in her room. Also a huge accomplishment.

    Over the weekend my roommates and I went out of town, so I left Cleo with Boyfriend David. He has two dogs at his house already, Eddie and Sydney, and boy were they excited to see Cleo. The only other time I’ve seen Cleo so scared is when I took her to the vet. But by the time I came to pick her up the next day, she had two new best friends and I don’t think she wanted to come home.

    Boyfriend David has a poster of The Kramer up on the wall in his living room. It is the ONLY wall decoration that he has up. Apparently, Cleo caught sight of it through the window from outside and began to bark at it. Then she crept up toward it slowly, growling all the way, before crouching in front of it and barking for about twenty minutes. Cleo hates Kramer!

    She also picked up the habit of jumping up onto couches during her sleepover weekend. My roommate Amanda doesn’t appreciate that because it’s her couch and we’ve caught her on it several times since last weekend. Yesterday Cleo was left alone for a short time while Amanda went to Starbucks, and when she came home Cleo had shredded some mail.

    When I saw it I thought it was the cutest thing. Her first tear-up! If this is as bad as it’s going to get, then I think we’ve got it pretty good. After having owned a dog for exactly 10 days (even though she’s Amanda’s dog too, I do pretty much everything for her besides feed her in the morning), I can say that it definitely puts limitations on my life but it is completely worth it.

  • Got Guts?

    Over the weekend I went to Austin to run in the Got Guts 5K, which benefited celiac disease awareness. Conveniently, one of my best friends and ex-roommate Carmen now lives in Austin so I got to stay with her. Also, she ran the race with me which made it a lot more fun.

    This was an interesting race because it was almost completely run on grass. I’ve never done an off-road race before, and I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t like it at first, but by the end of the race I was used to it. Also, all the food provided was gluten-free. I tried some of it, and there were some cookies that I really liked! I brought home a whole lot of gluten-free snacks to give to the people I know that have celiac disease.

    Other running updates:
    >I still really want to run the Texas Independence Relay, but my team is up in the air.
    >I’ve been following a marathon training schedule and it’s going really well.
    >I’m going to join a gym soon because my schedule is making it difficult to get to the park at safe times.
    >The next race I’m signed up for is the Tabor Homecoming 5K on October 20.

  • Are You A Goldilocks Kind Of Reader?

    From Booking Through Thursday:

    So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

    Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

    Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

    My answer is no. I am not a Goldilocks reader. I think that I could read in almost any situation, although I do better without TV or music because I do get distracted by that. Not that I don’t still read at those times, just slower. Some places that I have been known to read (other than on the couch or in bed):

    >The bus (frequently)
    >The checkout line at the grocery store
    >On road trips (when other people are driving)
    >My car (when I am driving – I know, I know, this is probably my worst habit so spare me the lectures!)
    >The bus stop
    >Waiting rooms
    >Pretty much anywhere when I have a spare minute and a book with me