Uno Mas!!

So I got my grades back today for the two classes I took this semester. The verdict?

I GOT TWO A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That brings me to 10 out of 11 classes completed with a cumulative GPA of 4.0!!

Only one class left and I will officially have my Masters of Science in Human Resource Management. Hooray!!

BOOYAH!

I finally had my review today at work and it went GREAT! I wasn't really worried about it, but I don't think anyone actually looks forward to those, right? Anyway, the performance evaluation went extremely well, but the part that makes me very happy was my compensation review.

As many of you know, the husband and I are determined to buy a house in the next year and a half while the housing market around here isn't as outrageous as usual - at least by Silicon Valley standards. We've given ourselves a budget, started saving and planned out our finances as well as we can for the next year. Needless to say, I was a little antsy to see if my comp adjustment would reflect all the hard work I've put in over the last year, but just as important, will it make a difference in our savings plan? The good news is YES! Granted, I didn't win the lottery or anything, but I did receive a pretty solid raise and every little bit helps, so I certainly can't complain. Woohoo!

And as if I deserved MORE good things at work, I'm just finishing out the second week with my new boss. She. Is. Awesome. A little background: two years ago, I was promoted to the HR Manager position to build an HR department. All by myself. I had no experience and at the same time started going to school in the evenings to get my masters degree in Human Resource Management. While I believe I've done a really good job so far with the HR dept., I'm realistic and know that there is only so far my department can go without some help and guidance from someone with more experience. Well, apparently my boss (the president of the company) was thinking the same thing and we hired the HR consultant we were working with on a few projects to be our Director of HR. She is amazing, funny, witty, super smart and has the most adorable British accent ever. I just can't believe how much nicer it is to go to work now that she's on board. The best thing about her? She's all about incorporating shopping into any and all offsite meetings or business trips. Who can argue with that? :)

Finally, a few pictures I took after work today to brighten up this post before I lose my 3 readers for good!

Pretty floral arrangement from my company...

Flowering ivy outside our kitchen window...Baby peaches on our tree!

...aaand I'm spent. The large furry things that live in my house are summoning me again... Have a Happy Friday, ya'll!

At Peace

Early Monday morning we got the news that my father-in-law's fiancé lost her battle with cancer. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with him, her daughter and the rest of the family right now.

I really wish we could hop on a plane back to NJ for the funeral and to be with Rusty's dad but we just can't afford the flights. Sending our love, good thoughts and lots of prayers will have to do for now.

Come back, Kim!!

I just had a fantastic weekend visiting with my BFF from high school, Kim. She and I met at soccer camp in New Jersey the summer before our freshman year. Actually, we had both been going to the same camp for a few years and I knew who she was, but frankly, she scared the crap out of me! I was totally intimidated by her because of her skills on the soccer field and how outgoing and confident she was. Thank god she turned out to not only be an amazing soccer player, but also super funny, loyal, smart and sweet. Because when we officially met we realized that we were going to spend a lot of time together over the next four years as a result of soccer and being in almost every class together since we were both nerds and would be taking all the honors classes. Since then we've been the best of friends regardless of the fact that we only see each other once a year at best. Fric and Frac. Francesca and Bianca. Kimmie and Meggie.

Kim comes back to visit at least once a year and I absolutely love it when she comes because she is always SO.EXCITED! California is Kim's Shangri La. It didn't matter that the weather didn't cooperate or that we didn't do much until 3 in the afternoon every day. She didn't even complain when we got to Great America yesterday and saw that the park was closed! Blurg.

In any case, we had a great time lounging around, going to a soccer game, shopping, eating, visiting with friends, hanging out at the beach, eating, playing the Wii, eating..... I think you get the idea. :)

Just a few shots from our weekend...

Sandy and Franny

The guy in the red hat was dressed like a pirate. And played the harmonica. It was weird.

Enjoying the view

My girl!

Kim's sweet ride down to San Diego
Franny, I'm gonna miss you!! Can't wait to see you in May! :)

Oy vey...

You all may recall my post about a month ago about the "highlighter incident." Since then, Harley had been spending his days in the crate to protect our belongings (and his health since that dog will clearly eat anything). Since we have company coming this weekend who we need to make room for and the house is all clean, we decided to put away the crate and let Harley have another chance. Since he has a tendency to go for office supplies (paper and highlighters), we figured we were good to go.

Well, apparently not. This is what we saw when we walked in the door at lunch today:
In case you can't tell what that pile o' fun is...

Yes. Feathers. Lots and lots and lots of feathers. This was the victim (among yet another pile of feathers in the dining room):

*Sigh* I just don't know what to do with him. On the one hand this was absolutely hilarious. We actually had to RAKE the feathers into a manageable pile and then run the vacuum about a thousand times to pick it all up. And as I sit here typing this, I can still see feathers floating around! Will they ever be all gone?? But on the other hand, he keeps finding things to chew up that we never thought he'd attack. And this pillow was almost $40! (Please don't judge me for spending that much on a stupid pillow.) Who knows what will be next!

Anyway, there was definite comic relief when, while we ate our lunch, we watched Brodie walk away with a single feather stuck to his ass. That. Was. AWESOME! I just wish I had gotten a picture of that. But just to give you an idea of how bad Harley is at tricking us into thinking he had nothing to do with the destruction du jour, look close at this picture and you'll see a big white feather on Harley's nose and feathers sticking out of his mouth. This is exactly how we found him when we got home. Gee, I wonder who the culprit was?

Hace mucho calor...

Summer decided to make a grand (and early) entrance this year. All weekend its been at least 85 degrees. Great for me! Not so much for Rusty or the dogs. Rusty's been coaching all weekend and the dogs (especially Harley) sometimes have a hard time cooling off in the heat. Today was the perfect day for a little something extra...

I couldn't get the video to show, so click here:
Bobbing for Ice Cubes on Vimeo.

Action Shots

Now that it stays light out a little bit later, we have more time to get outside and throw the frisbee around with the dogs. Please forgive me, they are kind of blurry, but the dogs move a lot faster than I can click the button on the camera!

Look how high Brodie can jump!
Harley, on the other hand, doesn't bother to leave the ground to catch it. Or it could be the extra 20 lbs he's carrying around. ;)

I love how funny Brodie looks in this one... It makes me chuckle.

That's all for now. I hope you didn't mind the dog-centric post. In case you hadn't noticed, I am slightly obsessed with my pups. :)

The Right Stuff

I can’t believe I’m going to admit this publicly, but I am STOKED for the return of not one, but TWO of the best things to happen to the 80s and 90s. Yes, that’s right, 90210 and New Kids on the Block.

I know what you’re thinking. "Meg, you need to get a life." (and you would be right)

But honestly, this is just too much! I know it won’t be the real 90210, just a spin-off, but can anyone look me in the eye and say they aren’t just the tiniest bit intrigued about the return of the Peach Pit? Hmmm?? Of course, since Aaron Spelling is no longer going to be enriching our lives with (what are now) cliché dramas about teen angst, I’m sure this spin-off will pale in comparison to the original, but whatever. I will totally watch it and probably love every horrible second of it.

As for the New Kids, (Sidenote: can they really be called that anymore? I mean, they’re hardly “new” and I definitely wouldn’t call them “kids." Helloooooooo, Joey! ;)) they are another comeback that I’m super excited for. Now, I know you all probably think I’m lamer than lame, and normally you would be correct, but let me clarify. I’m not excited in the OMG-I-HAVE-to-have-the-new-NKOTB-sleeping bag/umbrella/cassette, etc. kind of way (as most of us were back in the day). More like in the I-can’t-wait-to-see-this-trainwreck-but-I-secretly-really-hope-they-kick-ass, kind of way.

Follow me? Good.

Now all I need is for Debbie Gibson to come out with a new album and for Saved by the Bell to come back with Saved by the Bell: The Married Years. I can see it now, Kelly Kapowski marries Zack Morris only to have a love-child fathered by AC Slater, who married (and subsequently cheats on) Jessie Spano. The best part? The only happy couple in the group is Lisa Turtle and Screech who end up marrying, popping out 6 little Lisa's and Screech's and living happily ever after. Oh and who can forget Mr. Belding! He is the crotchety old man who lives down the street who always yells at the kids to "get off my dang lawn!"

The End. :)

&%!$

Please excuse the weird changes in the layout of what I'm sure is a daily staple for all 2 of my readers. ;) This site is currently under construction and I'm quickly finding that I'm Blogger-challenged...

Happy Monday!

Somehow this doesn't seem fair

It is such a pretty day out...

This is the apple tree in our backyard

And I'm stuck inside writing a paper. Boo. :(

I want to squish you and put you in my pocket.

There is entirely too much cuteness in our living room right now...