Tiesto and Fonzerelli

Joe and I are now parents...puppy parents! We got the bug to get a dog around New Year's. Our good friends Max and Anna have an amazing Pug named Albert. I rang in the New Year with Albert on my lap. After moving to the dog friendly (seriously dogs go everywhere) city of LA, I wanted a little friend ASAP. Turns out I got what I wanted times two!

Joe and I found a great rescue called Pugs 'N Pals. We went through an extensive adoption process. We had to visit an adoption event down in the OC to fill out an application. We had an interview and a house check. We got news that we passed and were able to adopt on the 4th of July. We were going to adopt a 3-year old fawn male Pug, but the organization would not adopt him without a buddy. We figured if we were going to get two dogs we might as well get the two little black puppies.

Our puppies finally came home on Saturday. I have been dying to write about these guys, but have found myself consumed with feeding, walking, potty time and oh yeah still going to work. They are both passed out on my lap right now, so I took the opportunity to open my laptop and write.

Joe and I named our puppies Tiesto and Fonzerelli...yes after the techno DJs. They have been much better than I thought they would be. We have had a few accidents in the house, but they occur when I am not paying attention. The boys are attention whores. They love laying on my lap and they cry like crazy when I leave. (Poor Joe. He has to listen to the boys whine for 20 minutes before 5am when I go to the gym. He's a trooper and I know I have a keeper!). The boys are popular when we are out in the streets of LA. Everyone stops to pet the boys, including the bums (EWWWW!). They are not afraid to approach the big dogs either. The only things that really scares them are the buses. I can't blame them. The buses come whizzing by and make weird noises. We are definitely making progress in overcoming this fear.

Our life has been flipped turned upside down, but it is so worth it. Coming home from work is the best. As soon as my key hits the lock the boys start getting excited. The look on their faces is priceless when I come to get them in the bathroom. They are practically screaming, "mom pick me up!"

Speaking of the word mom, I constantly refer to myself as mom. Oh boy! I can only imagine how bad it will be when Joe and I have kids. It is kind of sad our conversations already revolve around poop and pee.

My only complaint is that I am exhausted! I am getting up 30 minutes earlier to take care of my boys. Having the alarm ring before 5am is kind of brutal. I was so out of it tonight that I forget to pay attention to the elevator floors. I hit my floor, but it didn't register. Tiesto, Fonzi and I rode the elevator all the way to the top floor. Opps. We started going down and stopped on what I thought was our floor. We got off and ran down the hallway (the boys love to run home). I put my key in the lock and got a red light (I thought are you kidding me, this key doesn't work again!). Turns out I was on the wrong floor and trying to get into the wrong apartment. We got off on floor 11, but live on 9. Duh! Oh well...the boys got to run down the hall again, which is not a bad thing. They need the exercise since over the last few days we have had to carry them outside. Spoiled! I guess that makes 3 of us, me and the boys.

There's No Place Like Milwaukee

The excitement started to build Friday afternoon at work. My friends from St. Louis started to text me and the buzz around the office was all about what to pack and where to meet. It was time for my company's Annual Meeting!

I tried to fall asleep at a decent time knowing that there would be several late nights followed by early mornings in my near future, but didn't have much luck. I was too excited to see my friends from St. Louis and hang out with my LA colleagues. The alarm clocked shrilled at 4:00am (a girl's gotta stick to her workout routine), but somehow I popped right out of bed. Needless to say I made a beeline to the Starbucks at LAX as soon as I got through security. I love to fly because I tend to get a lot of reading done on planes. I am a bit embarrassed to admit this...I finished Lauren Conrad's book LA Candy on the flight to Milwaukee. I didn't expect much from the book and was delightfully surprised that LC kept me engaged in the story line. I think it helped that she wrote about tons of places I have either seen in LA or head about visiting. I also started Jon Gordon's book Training Camp. (My new thing lately has been to read a book for fun and one that will inspire and motivate me. Last month it was Good in Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner and How Full Is Your Bucket).

When we finally arrived in Milwaukee after a 4-hour flight, I headed straight to Jimmy John's for lunch. You have no idea how much I miss those sandwiches. Someone needs to open a franchise in LA stat! I met up with one of my best friends for a walk (just like old times) and had dinner with the girls from my old office. There is something so comforting about sharing a meal and bottles of wine with old friends.

Sunday morning kicked off with a run/walk. You wonder why I love my company? 8,200 people registered for the event. It is a great course that loops around Lake Michigan and down a running path through the woods. I was definitely "on" and in full running mode Sunday morning. I power fisted, cried when the song Lake Shore Drive came on my IPod (it reminds me of running with my dad) and busted a move to Paradise City. People who passed me on the course had no chance of out running me in the last mile. When others were fading, I was sprinting. I finished in 53:17 (I know there are faster runners, but I am happy with under 9 minute miles). After an exhilarating morning, I headed to a study group lunch. One of our company's top marketing executives joined us for lunch :) (Another reason I love my company. It is like a family and top management is never out of reach.) The day concluded with a party at the zoo. The zoo party is fabulous except for all of the free food. Of course, I had to find the dessert tent for the ice cream. All you can eat sundaes = problematic for any bride-to-be! In 5 months when my dress doesn't fit, I'll know the reason why. I introduced my new office to one of the cheesiest bars in Milwaukee, Victor's. I swear this place was a strip club in a former life. The leather couches, mirrored walls and neon lights make this place a classic spot for Annual Meeting attendees. I danced the night away (shocker!).

On Monday we heard from a variety of speakers that promoted the strength and stability of our company. I'm pretty proud to work where I do during these economic times. Tony Dungy was our outside motivation speaker...pretty cool! The highlight of Monday was definitely heading one of my former colleagues talk on the main stage. I would love to be a motivational speaker. They can make such a terrific impact in people's lives. Being a speaker along with writing a book are both on my "bucket list." We had our agency's cocktail party on Monday afternoon at the Capital Grille. Lobster fritters...yes please! There is something so right about great food, chilled wine and good company. I was fortunate enough to see friends from my old office again for dinner on Monday night. There is something so wrong about family style meals, especially Italian food served family style.

I had a lot to run off Tuesday morning! I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is to start the day running while the sun is rising over a lake. It is moments like those that make me grateful for my life! Tuesday morning we heard from more motivational speakers. A common theme...be positive, focus on what you want to achieve, control your attitude, when faced with adversity don't let it get you down and dream big. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, but for now I feel like I am with a great supportive company.

I let myself go (as my friend Juan would say) and had a blast Tuesday night. I wanted to be alert and focused during the day meetings on Monday and Tuesday (is this a sign of getting old?), but Wednesday was another story. I attended a cocktail party with a group of reps from my agency. We all went to the company show where we heard Danny Gokey (I had to Google his name to find out who he was when the company announced his presence at the show) and Kool & The Gang perform. I was a huge fan of the glow sticks they gave out and the fact that you could purchase beverages at the show. Thankfully, I left before Kool & The Gang sang Celebration. (Celebration is one of the songs on the no play list for the wedding. I swear if the dj plays the song, he will not get paid!). After the show I met up with some fabulous ladies for girls' night at a swanky sushi place (yes I just described some place in Milwaukee as swanky). X-rated and Pearl Pomegranate...hello heaven! Can someone in LA please start to carry Pearl vodka? The night ended at a one-of-a-kind bar called Safe House. Thankfully, I knew the password to get into the bar so I was spared from making a fool of myself in the entrance way. I've had to perform goofy acts to gain entrance in the past. After acting a fool a couple of times in front of the entire bar, I learned to remember the password. Inside the bar, I found my colleagues in the karaoke room. Leave it to the LA people to try and get discovered in the midwest. I do believe I executed the Roger Rabbit and the tootsie roll in the karaoke room..oh boy!

I woke up on Wednesday ready to go home and ready for some breakfast! Quizno's was my saving grace. Who ever invented the breakfast sub was a genius! Funny how I could not sleep at all on the red-eye flight I took a few months ago, but on this flight I could barely stay awake. I definitely arrived in LA with bar voice, great memories and a new 10k PR. I guess you can say I drank the Kool-Aid once again and can't wait to get in the game and do big things. I'm lucky to have so many friends in the company and to work for a company that wants to inspire and motivate people. It's amazing what a trip to Milwaukee can do!

Where Does Time Go?

How has it been nearly 3 weeks since my last post? Life has a funny way of happening and I seem to get busier and busier (which is a good thing for an energetic person like me). I have also been very distracted when I am on the Internet with Facebook and Twitter. Who knew updating people on your life could be so addicting. Does anyone really care what I just did 5 seconds ago (probably not!). I also must be getting older or my bed is just too darn comfortable, because lately when I had the choice to write a post or take a nap, the nap clearly won. I realized that if I don't stop to reflect and enjoy life it will quickly pass me by. Plus, I enjoy writing (as you can probably tell from my marathon length posts).

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks, so I'll do my best to write an abbreviated version. Work has been challenging, exciting and demanding. I successfully survived the busiest time in my career. When you are in the middle of coordinating training classes, coaching, managing meetings and completing daily tasks it seems so overwhelming. Now that I look back on all that I did over the last few weeks, I feel like I really accomplished a ton. I managed to learn a lot about my role and about myself (I need to work on stress management! I don't handle unforeseen circumstances very well when I am under a lot of pressure and deadline. There were many days when I felt like my head would roll off my shoulders if it wasn't attached. I was not my usual bubbly self and I was wound up tighter than a spool of thread.) I have no idea what changed, maybe it was Joe telling me he was sick of me talking about work, or I just woke up one morning with a new attitude and fresh approach. Even though I still have tons going on, I feel much more relaxed and in control. Now that I think about it, maybe I am finally getting the hang of things. I am happy to report that I am enjoying work!

Wedding planning is moving along. I still have a few more save the dates to mail out...opps! (Come on, give me a break. I need Joe to get me most of the addresses.) We picked out our photographer and I am so excited. We are working with a friend of mine from St. Louis who is extremely talented and creative. She designs her own antique jewelry, has great taste in fashion and has one of the best decorated places I have seen. The best part...she said she would boss me around on wedding day. (I want someone to tell me how to pose and where to be for pictures. I don't want to try to be creative with the pictures, especially since the bus will be stocked with champagne.)

Speaking of champagne, it is my new drink of choice. I have been ordering the bubbly like crazy when we have been going out, and we have been going out a lot. I think my liver might disown me after the month of July. Some of our great friends and wedding party members, Max and Anna came to LA for the 4th of July. We crammed so much into a weekend and every bit of it was amazing. You know those people that you love to be around? That is Max and Anna for me. I think I burned off all of my drinking calories by laughing all weekend long. On Thursday night we did the usual downtown night out. Dinner at Bottega Louie, a trendy restaurant that is always packed and serves delicious food, followed by drinks at The Standard. We had to wait in line forever to get into The Standard. Finally, the doorman came up to us. I told him patience is a virtue because I was so excited that I waited in line without complaining loudly (patience is not one of my strong virtues). Who blurts our philosophical terms in line at a bar? Yours truly! On Friday night we went to the legendary Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. I see why people rave about this place. Best Asian food I have ever had! I convinced our friends to sign up for the Redondo Beach 5k, so I started my 4th of July off running one of my best 5k runs. It helped that the course was on the Pacific Coast Highway, so we ran next to the ocean. Anna and I spent the day relaxing on our rooftop patio. We moved the chairs close to the water fountain and if you closed your eyes you could picture yourself at some exquisite spa. Saturday night was one of the greatest nights of my life. We watched the fireworks at USC and the show was an hour long. I kind of got bored, and I felt bad for getting bored since you don't get to see fireworks everyday. After the fireworks we headed to Hollywood to celebrate Independence Day at My House (one of the best clubs I have ever been to). The DJ was incredible, the drinks were strong and the dancing was fierce. Anna and I met Roy from the office and wished Rob from Rob & Big a happy b-day. No night out in Hollywood would be complete without stumbling around looking at the stars. I got a picture next to Kiefer Sutherland's star and Hugh Hefner's star (those pics did not make the Facebook cut). We also found Michael Jackson's star. There were flowers and signs and people mourning the pop star. Leave it to me to knock over one of the cardboard signs as I bent down to take a picture (the people mourning were not happy! I swear I was not trying to be rude, I just had no sense of balance). Needless to say, we got a slow start to Sunday given that our cab dropped us off around 3am (how did I go out hard core night after night in college? I really must be getting old). We still managed to venture down to Laguna Beach and had dinner in Newport Beach to end the weekend.

Joe and I had the chance to have fun with friends all over again last weekend. Our high school friends Rory and Rhonda flew out for a little vacay in LA. We did the usual Thursday night out in downtown LA. I missed all of the fun in Malibu and Santa Monica on Friday, but caught back up with the group for an amazing dinner at Kincaid's on the Redondo Beach Pier. It was no surprise that Friday was an early night after devouring our meals. We made up for being lame on Friday with a fantastic night out at Elevate in downtown on Saturday. My dancing shoes were strapped tightly to my feet! Joe and I truly enjoy hosting guests, so please come visit.

The most exciting thing of all is that Joe and I are about to become parents. Pug parents that is! We are adopting two black pug puppies (I know I must be crazy!) from a rescue here in Southern California. The puppies are brothers, so they can't be separated. Joe and I figured that it would be better to have two dogs since we both work full-time. I am already trying to condition myself to an even earlier alarm, and I am failing miserably. Today, I turned off my alarm and continued to lay in bed. 30 minutes later I miraculously woke up. I need to break this habit stat before I don't wake up in time for work. I am looking forward to having two little buddies around when Joe is traveling. I also need someone to walk with when I go to the beach. Now I will have a leash in each hand. If I fall of the face of blogger again for the next few weeks, you'll know why. It is hard to believe that I have been in LA almost 6 months. Our wedding is less than 5 months away. It is utterly amazing how fast time flies.