Writing a Post...Helping Some Dogs

It's no secret I love my blogs. I mean the obsessed kind of love. Not the scary Ali Larter v. Beyonce kind of obsessed. More like the NICE kind of obsessed.

Anyhow one of my favorite blogs posted some information about how to help various dog shelters get their hands on some donations. All I have to do is inform my 3 loyal readers :-) about it and submit a link. So if you have a website you can do the same and even more donations will roll in to those shelters in need. Since Winston was a rescue of sorts, and who KNOWS where he'd be now if we hadn't taken him in. And as a good citizen and dog owner I feel an obligation to help out where I can.

I took this from the website I learned about the donations called Life With Dogs. It's a great blog with great information, amazing stories and fantastic giveaways. Yep, I said it. GIVEAWAYS!

Log on and learn something new!

xxoo
Cares

• Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.

• This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1  million bowls have been donated.

• Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19^th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog

Repost: I Can't Make This Ish Up!

So I sit in a teeny tiny cubicle with incredibly low windows for walls which translates to NO PRIVACY. No biggie, just makes me that much more productive. It's great, really.

AHEM

Now as a teacher and a nanny I've seen my fair share of children with the ants-in-their-pants syndrome. Plenty. What I've never seen is a grown man get up from his desk 85,000 times in the span of one half hour. I'm not kidding. And he doesn't just get up and walk.
He ever.so.slowly.shuffles.his.right.foot.then.the.left...ENOUGH ALREADY! SIT DOWN!

I don't know where he goes or why. I don't know why he gets up to get his lunch from the refrigerator only to shuffle back, set it down on his desk and shuffle back out again. I only know he is completely incapable of sitting still and does this ALL DAY LONG. I also know a little bit about his temper and his stutter.

A few weeks ago, I was minding my own business being very productive in my teeny tiny cubicle with incredibly low windows for walls when out of nowhere I hear antsy-pants begin to raise his voice and yell at what seems to be a co-worker on the phone. Not only is he yelling but then his stutter kicks in so he's angrily stutter-shouting and some poor sap on the phone.  My eyes about bugged outta my head as I looked up at my co-workers who all looked back with the same scared-as-shit expression. And it went on and on and on for a good 15 minutes. Stutter shouting about not having information to give in time, and "no I don't have to ask for things in a nicer manner".

I of course being the dramatic soul that I am, I envision him slamming the phone down and going postal all over the office. Luckily my imagination is much more animated than real life and instead he just stutter-vented to his office mate who politely nodded his head in agreement to EVERYTHING HE SAID. Um, yeah I wouldn't go against antsy pants either! You just can't fix crazy.

So yesterday was one of our Director's last days. He's taken a position overseas and in honor of this we were throwing him a sendoff party at the local bar and grill. It's 4PM and our Director's admin comes to my teeny tiny cubicle with incredibly low windows for walls to ask me to head over early with her. She doesn't finish her sentence when out shuffles antsy pants.

Hhhhheyy guys...I've gggot this gggreat idea! You remember The Carol Burnett Show?

Blink
Blink
Blink

Cares: You mean Miss Hannigan? The mean orphan lady from Annie? Sure, I remember her!
Admin: No I think he means the SHOW
Antsy Pants: Yeah! Well remember this song?

Antsy Pants then proceeds to sing the farewell theme song to The Carol Burnett Show and pretty well actually. No, this guy was GETTING INTO IT. Eyes closed, knee dips, the whole nine yards. Right outside my teeny tiny cubicle with incredibly low windows for walls. All the while all I can think is "Why MY cube, and WHY isn't anyone else here to witness this crazy behavior?"

He won't leave until Admin and I both promise to sing with him. Oh yeah, sure sure! GETTOUTTAHEREANDWHILEYERATIT SIT DOWN!

By the time I get to the Bar and Grill everyone had heard about Antsy Pants and his desire to serenade our Director. Dude shows up holding song sheets for everyone carefully tucked under his arm like the Holy Grail. He's beaming. He raises his water glass to toast our director. He stands up and is very gracious. Then he turns not so gracious as he passes out the song sheets.

And a one, and a one, and a one two three four....

Some people just sit and read the words, some take copious sips of their cocktails, some mumble along but all are feeling a little awkward for antsy pants. He's still beaming and singing his heart out. Still the only one standing up.


I do NOT make this up. I promise.

Just When I Thought it Couldn't Get Worse....

Antsy Pants has the EXACT same laugh as George McFly.

WHAT?! WHY?!

And if you think I'm kidding, I'm SO not kidding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e18eE33juE8

Things I Saw This Weekend

All changes, even the most longed for have their melancholy;
For what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves.
We must die to one life before we can enter another.

-Antole France

Photo courtesy of the ladies room at The Catalyst Downtown Santa Cruz

Things I Hear in Yoga

So I've signed up for 30 more days of bliss at Bikram Yoga Aptos. Okay so perhaps BLISS isn't QUITE the sentiment but I can honestly say I've enjoyed the past 22 days practicing and getting better. I have had the best teachers at this studio, each with his/her own enlightening statements they've taken on from Bikram himself. One that has really stuck with me was said during Bow Pose. You're lying on your stomach grabbing the top of your feet from the outside and KICK KICK KICK until you can see your feet come up over your head.

Blink
Blink
Blink

Okay so I CANNOT see my feet come over my head. I can barely get the grip without the fear that I am going to yak/fart/scream/collapse. It's multitple choice day here at Anglewood. If you selected all of the above in that last sentence, congrats! You WIN!!! At any given point in every 90 minutes of my practice those feelings rise. I think the entire point of Bikram is to be able to acknowledge those feelings and find the capacity to push them way deep down and let them go. It's a great challenge.

So back to the pose...

As you grab your ankles you're supposed to look up and back. As I'm kicking my legs and clenching my touche I hear the instructor calmly say "Now look up, way up. Your body will follow your eyes. If you can see and know where you're going your body will follow".

Now I took this figuratively and literally. Isn't it the simple truth?

Things I Hate Doing

The only thing worse than having to attend a baby shower is getting roped into helping put one on.

Ugh
Double UGH

Okay, Okay

I deeply apologize to my TWO known readers that it's taken me 85,000 years to write. :-)

So Intuition and Accountability. I've had experience with both in the past week and am excited to vent.

I was blessed with an incredible intuition. That voice/feeling striking sensation that speaks to me is very evident and mostly very reliable. But this isn't the kind of intuition I'm talking about. Maybe the word "intuition" isn't what I'm referring to in this instance, so help me out if you think of another term.

I've spent a couple of years in a classroom. Not just any classrooms. JUNIOR HIGH classrooms. You can remember back to jr. high, can't ya? Well it's a time of great confusion thinking you know it all even though your hormones are more than you can emotionally even deal with. This can cause students to daydream, lollygag, and don't get me started on the endless chitter chat during lectures. Sounds a lot like kindergarten eh? Well, I've had to repeat myself many times to these students, so many times in fact that I actually got sick of my own voice. (GASP!) Okay maybe not. But my point is, PAY. ATTENTION. Repeating one's self in a classroom is incredibly common. In fact I'm pretty sure it's listed in the job requirements. I just didn't necessarily think it would be part of my life working in Corporate America. Fast forward to last week when I walked a colleague through a process that involved uploading content to our shared FTP site.

Blink
Blink
Blink

Let me go over it AGAIN. it's an online tool that allows the sharing of really large files too big to send over email.

So literally a week later this same colleague asks me for the FTP information.

Commence the gnashing of teeth and ripping out of hair. I oh-so-sweetly responded to the email by copying and pasting the exact instructions sent over the week prior. Somehow I managed to restrain myself from forming into a giant asshol and even walked over to help.

Does it take intuition to go and find that email BEFORE asking for me to do it for you? Or is that another word?

I love this colleague, I truly do. This colleague is sweet and kind and honestly only wants to do the best job. I in no way think ill of my colleague, just the experience. I'm one of those poor saps that can actually separate the action from the person in most cases. Weird I know. Whatever. This is my blog. Get your own. :-)

So maybe intuition isn't the right word, but when I interviewed I told my future boss that I will try EVERYTHING before I ask for help and it's true. I will research the shit out of something before asking for help and explain all the avenues I took when I can't find the answer on my own. I guess THAT'S the kind of intuition I'm talking about. Maybe it's more like initiative. They've both got i's and t's and n's. Same diff. Kinda.

Accountability

So you're probably thinking this is just going to be another rant about said colleague. Well, it's not. In this case the accountability is about yours truly. WHAT? You mean YOUR blog is going to talk about YOU? ;-)

Don't be daft, it's not charming.

So I've been practicing Bikram yoga since 2006 or so. I'm still not very good at it and in the past not very consistent, but I love it.

I've been driving to Downtown SC to attend classes in a stinky, unfriendly studio with a nothing-short-of-chaotic parking experience. Every camel pose I would pray and send out energy for a new studio to open in Aptos. If you know me, then you KNOW me, meaning my thoughts are generally out loud and my opinions can be somewhat strong.

Blink Blink Blink

So you can imagine my surprise and joy when a post-surgery, jacked-up-on-pain-meds Megan calls my cell and leaves a message for me:

Care? Oh, right voicemail. Care, sooo I'm siiiiting in the car wayyyyiting for Paul in the UPS store and therrrre's this sign that says Aptos Bikram Yooooga. We haaaave to goooo. Byeeee. Oh it's meeee, Megan.

Before I called her back I got online and typed in Aptos Bikram Yoga. Sure enough, THERE WAS A BLOG AND EVEN SOME PICTURES!!! OH HAPPY DAY! I waited patiently (ahem) for 2 months and was the first one at the door waiting to get in the Grand Opening. Okay so I missed the Grand Opening for a weekend getaway with the hubz in Pismo. But I was there Monday ready to bikram the fat right outta my big ole Judy Booty. They're introductory plan is 10 consecutive classes for $20. Oh and I was there all 10 days.

Okay I missed 2 days, but only because they don't offer an early morning class on Tuesdays and those are the days I go to LG to do power yoga and then hit up Gram's for a visit and dinner.

See don't you feel bad for being mean saying things like I'm a slacker for missing? What?

So my 10 days is up and I've just committed myself to 30 consecutive days of yoga. Mostly Bikram and some Power because that's just how I roll.

I'm sure you'll be reading all about it. Hey, I gotta figure it out. I just tried on my bikini from my honeymoon and it yelled at me. Loudly. I mean it screamed so maniacally that I felt a break in the space-time continuum.

What? So I have a flair for the dramatics. Better that it's in my writing and not real life. BEE. NIIICE.!

So I've COMPLETELY derailed this rant. AHEM

So along with the new Yoga studio being amazingly beautiful, the energy is so incredibly positive and uplifting in this joint.

Y'all.

The owner HUGGED me on my first day. The convo went like this:

Owner with the rockin' yoga body: Welcome! You know, you look VERY familiar...
Me: Wellllll I mean, I've added you on Facebook...been following your blog..basically I've been waiting 2 years for you and this stuuu....
Owner with the rockin' yoga body: (cutting me off reaching for a hug) Oh you are so sweet! Caroline? Well, welcome Caroline, I am so happy to have you here!

And what do you know? Owner with the rockin' yoga body greets me by my first name EVERY TIME she sees me, and calls me out in class: Caroline I KNOW you can get deeper into that half moon, beautiful posture Caroline...She was as excited as I was to become an "official" member and not just for the money. No kids, this is the real, genuine kind of joy. I just adore Owner with the rockin' yoga body.

So the only problem to all that is the accountability that goes on in an intimate setting like this. They aren't afraid to call me out and push me to my limits. This is what's going to make the difference in my body, but with that comes hard work. I could hide at the old studio. They never bothered to ask me my name after the initial sign in before class. I could sit out as many poses as I wanted, not push as hard. Those days are long gone and now there's accountability which will lead me to feeling and looking my best. I CAN'T WAIT!

So onward and upward. Here's to looking good in my honeymoon bikini.

Coming Soon....

A detailed rant regarding intuition and accountability. Hopefully the latter of those will be helping me get something up today....

xxoo
Cares

Happy Friday

Let's all be weary of the Swamp Heifer and strive every day not to become one.

I think this shall be my new prayer before walking out for an evening out.

Happy reading and more importantly, HAPPY FRIDAY!

xxxooo

Cares

http://pearl-whyyoulittle.blogspot.com/2010/08/and-remember-they-can-smell-fear.html#links

On Failing

Failing every once in a while is part of being human. Actually, it might be a requirement.

I just read this statement that someone posted as a response to another blog. It made me stop, look up, and take a big breath before I re-read it a few times.

Lately my emotions have been getting the better of me. Shocking, right? Well a lot of people I care about are going through some serious life changes, myself included, and it's taking a toll. I recently had a conversation with Kimmie about how our ideals have changed dramatically from our college days. Y'know the days when we were actually BELIEVING we could take on the world and make a change. I mean not just thinking that our ideas and actions would actually make a difference but KNEW they would. We were in college. We were unstoppable. We were going to do what no one else has ever sought out to do before us.

Fast forward to today. Neither of us are actually doing much related to what we studied, pined, dreamed of doing. Maybe the word failure is too dramatic, but what does feel like failure are the numerous attempts we've all made trying to get back on that track, relive those ideas of grandeur on a much smaller scale. Sure it's a shit time to try and get ANY kind of job in ANY field, there's not a whole hell of a lot any of us can do about that. We've had to settle for what we can get but ultimately that settling has created an incredible amount of stagnancy causing an uneasy feeling of failure.

I'm too damn young for a mid-life crisis. But here I am. Feeling unsettled in so many areas and not having much opportunity to change it.

I'm not where I thought I'd be. My family dynamics are not what I thought they were. So many things I've made up in my head have come down in a crashing heap of good intentions and sugar-coated ideals. I want it all, the career that keeps me motivated and satisfied and a family life that provides stability and comfort. And maybe for the most part it does, but it sure isn't what I've made it up to be. It sure isn't what I pretend it is. And let me tell you, I'm a great pretender. I guess that's attributed to all the books I've read and the imagination I've conjured up. I've tried to make up a world that doesn't exist. I think I really do live in a parallel universe without a true grip on reality. I'm not crazy, I've just ignored so much of the bad or negative and tried to simply gloss over it.

Growing up I never learned how to really talk about things that upset me. I was 21 years old the first time I actually sat down and discussed my feelings about my parent's divorce with Bubba. They split up when I was 2.

Blink
Blink

My whole life I've wanted peace and quiet, everyone getting along. I still do. But that's not real. Life is messy. Life is hard. Life is filled with curve balls you don't see coming. But it's also an amazing ride with some amazing people by my side.

Life is sometimes about falling apart and putting yourself back together.