isnt it interesting when you ask people why they are voting for obama they have solid reasons based on policy, but when you ask people why they are voting for mccain they always start the sentence with "well, obama..."

in other news... neither the sticker or the button that i ordered almost a month ago ever showed up. i am wondering if someone is stealing my mail. my very italian landlords don't seem like the type, but they could be very republican. i can't tell. they might not have even known what the package was though, so they probably would have ignored it.

so, i took action and spent my last 12 dollars at barackobama.com and ordered a couple of buttons and a car magnet. lets hope those actually come in the mail.

last night i watched the debate alone b/c b was too tired to come over, but i felt a little crazier yelling at the tv with no one around, so i had to distract myself. i talked to him online and told him i was yelling at the tv, he thinks its funny.

i nearly missed the shuttle this morning, it was a bit late, but it showed up JUST as i got over the huge hill that i have to trek up every day. thank goodness there were people already waiting at the stop or he may have blown us by.

i got my obama tshirt in the mail. i shall represent.

this whole bailout thing was handled so poorly. why didn't anyone stand up and explain it to the public? its an extreme failure of management. with all the corporations also failing, i'm a little worried about the management of everything in this country.

i cannot wait until the VP debates. i really hope palin is decimated, in the nicest way possible.

i've posted something over at blogspot if you'd like to read it. i'm too lazy to double post.

it sucks so much to not know where you stand at any given time.  i mean, it really really sucks.  whether its a job, or a friend, or a lover, or a spouse, unless you just absolutely do not care, it really sucks.  know what i mean? 

is it possible to die from a broken heart? 

the braves game was rained out. booooo.

i have been feeling really off lately. i thought it was the new job new routine thing, but i don't know if it is now. i think its something else. i can't really pinpoint it, there are a lot of things going on right now that are causing stress. i love my job though, thank god for that. i don't know if i could handle it all while working at my last job.

i am getting my hair cut tonight! i want short wispy bangs and a sort of angled choppy bob thats short and spikey in the back. i am just trying to keep cutting my hair until all the damaged stuff from the platinum blonde days is gone.

i am so tired today. i have had plenty of sleep and i've had a large coffee and 2 shots of espresso. what is up with me today?

on another note, brian and i are going to a baseball game tonight! it might rain so i've sent him out for ponchos. i can't wait. we live so close to the stadium and we always have so much fun when we go. i hope the fireworks don't get rained out. even if its crappy out we should have a fun time. maybe they'll give us free tickets to another game if it gets rained out?

daisy is pregnant, too. dexter's sister. i emailed our neighbor and said i would take the puppies. i want them to have good homes. i wish they'd get those pets fixed, there are so many cats over there, and 3 dogs, and nobody is fixed. if i didnt think she was really against fixing them, i'd offer to take them to get fixed. i think i'd offend her if i did, and i highly doubt she'd let me take them anyway.

i doubt i'll hear anything from her, but i may end up with several puppies at my house in a few months if she lets me take them, so if anyone wants a puppy, tell me now!

i am alive, i swear. i'm just busy and i've completely stopped looking at livejournal. i'm sorry. i'll join in again, i swear.

well this has been an eventful month.

i had been applying casually to Turner and Emory, not really thinking that i would ever get hired, or even an interview really.

about a month ago, i got a call from someone at emory, asking if i would like to interview for a position there.

i mostly thought 'okay, they just want to get a comparison' and the interview would lead to nothing.

well, i got a call 2 days later to come back for a second interview. during the second interview, jeri, the hiring manager made a little slip when she said 'i hope we'll see you next week'. i wasnt sure how to take that, was she just making conversation? was she letting out a hint that they really like me and i might get hired? it was driving me crazy.

well, about a week later, i got another call. it was jeri telling me that they were planning to give me an offer for the position!

its kind of crazy, i had mixed feelings. i would definately miss the people i work with now, but i didnt really think i'd miss the job at all. it was high stress and too much work for one person to do, etc....

i will definately miss my coworkers though.

yesterday was my last day of work at my former job. i will be in and out of there, probably doing a little work for them here and there, but nothing like before.

on wednesday, i start at emory. i am really excited and nervous and anything else you can imagine.

the benefits there are amazing, which is why i chose to casually apply there in the first place, with no real hope of actually getting a job.

it will definately be a whole new world for me this year.

this morning was so dramatic

first of all, milhouse peed in the house last night RIGHT in front of me and he had just gone outside an hour before! thats the first time in months and months!! i think he was afraid to pee on the snow? but i made them go out then.

this morning i was putting them in their crate for us to go to the gym, and the pad from the dog bed was folded up in the corner so i picked it up to move it and there was POOP folded up in it!

milhouse pooped in it at some point and then actually FOLDED IT IN HALF and put it in the corner of the crate! he must have done this yesterday. so i had to clean the crate and clean the pad and wash all the dog beds in the crate cause they all smelled bad anyway, and that was all before we went to the gym.

milhouse is seriously the strangest dog in the world. hopefully he pooped and peed outside this morning

brian has been trying really hard lately to get a mention in my journal, saying something mildly funny, or even really funny and going 'wouldnt that be perfect for livejournal?'. i find this funnier than anything he's actually asked me to put in my journal :)

its a leap year, you know.

i am so glad for the holidays to be over. my willpower is waning!

one of our vendors just came in and ordered us lunch. i had the mediterranean turkey sandwich with pesto with no pesto and no chips, but a salad on the side. it was supposed to have goat cheese on it but they left it off accidentally. thats ok, it saved me the calories i spent on the piece of jalapeno cheese bread they added inexplicably to my salad.

i came into work after new year's day and found that my desk was infested with ants. happy new year to me! i hope there isnt some sort of symbol i was supposed to get by being plagued with ants on the second day of the new year.

i had a bag of lemon drops that i bought on a whim last year in a drawer that the ants searched for and found, and decided to invite the in-laws.

my desk has now been cleansed of any old candy that has been sitting around for a year.

1 lemon drop would have sufficed to satisfy that craving.

anyway, about the month of december... brian was sick, like really sick, for most of it.

then we went to chicago, had a nice time, but ate too much.

i had lost 6lbs by the time we left, and gained 7lbs by the time i got back. technically thats only a 1lb gain during the holidays, which isnt bad, right?

i've now lost 3lbs from christmas. i need to get to the gym in the mornings. i hate going in the afternoons. if it wasnt so hellishly cold right now, it might be easier.

new years was nice, we spent it at kristin's and i drank too much and was feeling a bit hazy by midnight, but brian and i, kristin and rachel, and anne and andrea had a little mini-romantic moment when the clock struck midnight, the ball fell, etc... new years kisses!

new years day was pretend xmas with my family. i got a lot of nice stuff, and so did brian. pearls, jewelery box, a nice thermos for my morning coffee from starbucks, some clothes, and a ped egg (which is the grossest thing ever, but so cool). brian got some tools and a mug for HIS coffee, among other things, including some way cool QVC sunglasses. if only brian was dog the bounty hunter, or at least had a mullet, they'd be perfect.

the holidays are over, i'm back at work, ho hum. i am looking forward to a routine again. it helps me stick with weight loss.

the whole 'year in review' post made me really think about this past year. i am glad i've kept my journal going the whole year, its really interesting to remember everything that happened over the last year. things from january through march feel like they happened years ago, and other things feel like they happened just yesterday.

this was our first year in our first house with our first dog(s) and our 2nd full year in atlanta together. we had our house warming party and lots of dinner parties for the first time.

this year trumps last year, big time.

i don't even want to think about last year, especially since most of the bad stuff happened almost 2 years ago now, but thank GOD this year was better, i really didnt think things could get better for a while, but i am happier than i have been since i can remember now. there are things, of course, that i'd like to change, i'd like to have more money and be thinner and have all my family members be healthy, but over all, even without all those things, i am happier than i have been since i was a kid.

i think thats a pretty big accomplishment, to be as happy as you were as a kid, assuming you didnt have a horrible childhood, that is.

Year End Meme. (i hate that word, meme)
Go to your Calendar and find the first entry for each month of 2007. Post the first line/sentence of it in your journal, and that's your "Year in Review".

January
well, i am back on the horse. yes, thats counting calories and going to the gym again, and this time its long term, is swear. (ha)


February
yeah, this year i cared a little bit because the bears were playing, and brian cared this year. normally though, i wouldnt even know who was playing. (superbowl reference, it happened on my sister's birthday)

March
i am so happy its nice out again. there were terrible storms yesterday and i was afraid my house would get washed away. (wow, we got rain this year!?)

April
dexter is adorable. (dexter pictures!)



May
apparently nothing in my life has any meaning outside of puppy-world. (awwwww, we were just about to pick up milhouse for the first time!)

June
I've started (again) on my way to physical fitness and major weight loss... i've been keeping track of it on my blogspot so if you are interested, check it out! (another restart)

July
i am recovering from a bad fall on my front porch stairs and finally my ass doesn't feel like someone is kicking it constantly.

August
(brian was begging for it...) another post, i mean.

September
new tattoo pic!


October
kate got out yesterday.

November
there is an hour and a half left of work and i'm hungry and i want to absorb the dwindling sunlight before its all gone.

December
Year End Meme!

1. brian turned 30 on sunday, we went to helen, i have lots of incriminating pictures.
2. inlaws came and went, grampa got sick and was being a butthead, made the whole trip a lil stressful for all of us.
3. my gramma is very sick, and we are all sort of waiting for what is going to happen
4. brian is really sick, running a fever, and annoying me by going outside to work on the yard anyway. argh.
5. my dad's family has alienated us quite a lot recently, first by not inviting us to thanksgiving, then deciding to come to my parent's for thanksgiving, THEN the day before thanksgiving, canceling their plans and going to my uncle's cabin in the mountains for thanksgiving. leaving me and my mom and dad scrambling to get food together for turkey day. thanks a lot guys.

i've always felt a little alienated from them but the last few weeks with my grandma sick have really emphasized it. they treat my mom and dad like they don't exist sometimes and its starting to really piss me off.

my parents were busy getting ready for the whole family to come over for thanksgiving dinner, and were assured that all the food was taken care of, and now the family isnt coming over, leaving us with green beans and mac and cheese (the only planned things that we were bringing) so now there is a mad dash for the rest of the food. i hate to rant about it, its not even really about this specific event, its just like, we are always last in their thoughts of the family. i wish we were all closer, but its becoming more evident to me that they don't really care about us that much. frustrating.

...this was us this morniing...

Tiffany: why are you being a crabass?
Brian: why are you calling me an asshole?
Tiffany: Asshole!
Tiffany: (after a pause) i didnt call you an asshole, i called you a crabass!
Brian: you just did!
Tiffany: Asshole!

and there is an hour and a half left of work and i'm hungry and i want to absorb the dwindling sunlight before its all gone.

i hate it when the sun is already setting as i am leaving work. no sunlight means no fun outside with the dogs and short short days. it makes me want to get off work early so i can enjoy it. not that i wouldn't want to get off work early any day, but especially now. i hate being at work until its dark! at least its light out when i get to work in the morning. maybe i should get up earlier.

yes, i'm just bitching, its been a long day.

this is our neighborhood's symbol. i'd say at least half the houses in the neighborhood have them decorated in their individual ways on their homes. its one of those things that i love about atlanta, almost every neighborhood in the city has a symbol like this, but i love this one because you can personalize it. most of the time whatever the symbol is is already painted and finished and ready to be put up. i had this one for 6 months before i decided what to do with it... and here it is!!

this needs to be me!! 10 reasons to exercise in the morning! ganked from sparkpeople.com


1. Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you’ll be burning more calories all day long—just because you exercised in the morning.

2. Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day—not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)

3. Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.

4. Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn’t be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier—especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you’ll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at first.)

5. When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That’s beneficial because:

o Your body’s not “confused” by wildly changing wake-up times, which means waking up is much less painful. (You may even find that you don’t need an alarm clock most days.)
o Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.
o Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity and exercise, begin to elevate while you're sleeping. As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake up.

6. Many people find that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods.

7. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.

8. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)

9. More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.

10. Non-morning people can always trick themselves in the a.m. Having trouble psyching yourself up for a sunrise jog? Do what I did—tell yourself that you’ll still be so fast asleep that you won’t even remember—much less mind!

ok, i am ok now. i am really good at making nice usually but sometimes i just can't keep my mouth shut. everyone started taking things personally and it was really silly. now things are ok. i feel the need to unwind by looking at bad tattoos or something!

speaking of bad tattoos, i really want to get another tattoo. i want to get my trampstamp fixed (i hate that its called a trampstamp, its so condescending) but i also don't want to pay money to have something like that worked on when i won't be able to look at it.

on a similar note to what i've been discussing all day, my grandma called over the weekend asking if i would like to fill one of the Samaritan's Purse boxes that she has wrapped. i think i want to do it but i feel silly doing it at the same time. i don't know where you go to buy things that i need to put in the box! its a really good cause though, maybe i'll go out with my mom this weekend to do it.

also, my grandma is in the hospital again, having trouble breathing. i hate that i won't be in atlanta for christmas this year, she's been so sick and i would hate to think i'd miss the last christmas with her. i guess i just need to think positive, and hope she is around for next christmas too! (and many christmases after?)