Promotion, long hours & the first snow.

It's been too long since I've written and much has happened by now. My mom and Ruby have since come and gone, and I must say that when you live that far away from your mom, one week is not nearly enough time together.

But on a really exciting note, my job couldn't be moving in a better direction. I have recently been given an awesome promotion, and while it does require some long hours, I am truly loving every moment of it. I am not sure if I have mentioned this previously, but my boss owns four gyms in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. I myself am the general manager of one of the gyms and was recently promoted to a 'lead manager' position in order to give assistance to the managers of the other gyms. But what I am so completely thrilled about is that I have also become the personal training manager of the entire training department for all four clubs.

My goal, when I decided to obtain a degree in kinesiology, was to make sure that I was a able to make a living doing something I loved. To have a passion, and be able to reach out and share it with others puts me exactly where I want to be in life.

By the way, we had our first snow here on Friday!

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration. - Even Esar

Ahh the training phase...

So I was taking pictures of Cinderbelle and Tank playing, when Tank runs off and comes back with one of my shoes in his mouth. He then proceeded to the 'down' position with it as if he were going to start gnawing on it like one of his toys, right in front of me nonetheless. It just made me laugh because neither he nor Cinder are "shoe" dogs really, or so I thought.

So my mom comes tomorrow which proves yet again (as if I needed more proof) that time flies. But for once I don't mind it because I'm so excited for her to be here. Although I'll be working a lot while she's here, it'll just be nice to have her and Ruby here in the same state with me for a week. ;-)

I hope everyone is staying healthy as the holidays are slowly but surely creeping up on us. I mention this because I am aware that it is on the minds of many people as gym memberships have been increasing in the last month. I personally have started increasing my running by about 20% each week in order to increase my metabolism to make up for all the yummy holiday food that lies ahead. Just some food for thought as I take off for my morning jog. Be positive and take on the day!

Everything you want in life has a price connected to it. There's a price to pay if you want to make things better, a price to pay just for leaving things as they are, a price for everything. ~ Harry Browne

Tank & Mommy Blogging

One of the nice things about my job is that, while I work 40-45 hours/week, I don't have to be in until 11am most days. This gives me the mornings to not only get my workouts in, but to spend time with my furry kids. This morning Tank and I are spening time together blogging. ;-) This is a picture of he and I in my sunroom/office. Can you believe how big he is already at 19 weeks?!

He is an incrediable puppy with an old soul. He continues to think Cinder Belle is the best big sis there ever was. ;-)

On another happy note, my mom and Ruby (her bullmastiff) are coming to visit me this month! I am so thrilled to show them my new house and new town. They will be staying for a week, so I've been getting the guest room all set up and thinking about all the fun things we can do. Although, it does seem to be cooling off pretty quickly here in Idaho, so I'm hoping to still have some of this great weather for their arrival.

Cinderbelle, Tank and I have been missing them so we can't wait for them to get here!

An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship. -Spanish Proverbs

Awaiting the Sun's Arrival

I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee waiting for the sun to come up, and I figured what better time to blog that right now. Why would I be waiting for the sun to come up? Well, starting the day off with an outdoor jog is my idea of the perfect morning, for so many reasons, but mostly because of how you feel for the rest of the day, filled with energy.

Now, if I were still living in California, I would be out jogging whether the sun had come up yet or not, but here in Idaho I wait 'til I can see what's around me. And I'm not talking about crime, although I guess it could be considered that, you know, me getting mauled by a wild animal. And while I haven't really seen anything wild out here yet, aside from a couple of ferrell cats that live behind me, I've chosen to not live on the wild side with this one, pun intended.

On another note, I am thoroughly enjoying my new job as the General Manager of my own gym. I am coming to the end of my first week on the job, and while I feel so certain that I made the right choice accepting this position, I am even more greatful to have been given this opportunity.

More later...sun's coming up now!

I find that the more willing I am to be grateful for the small things in life, the bigger stuff just seems to show up from unexpected sources, and I am constantly looking forward to each day with all the surprises that keep coming my way! -Louise L. Hay

Who I Miss

I'm sure this won't be a surprise to many of you, given that I seem to like dogs more than people, but I miss Ruby. Ruby is my mom's beautiful bullmastiff, which makes her my lit'l sis. ;-) There are so many things I miss about her, but mostly, I miss our long walks together. My mom got Ruby just weeks before Bodacious passed, she was only 16 weeks old, but boy did they love to play together. Although Ruby & Bodacious were friends for just a short while, there is something about her that keeps his spirit alive. She was a key component to my getting through his loss.

That's the weird thing about moving to a different state, while I miss my family and friends, I can still pick up the phone to call them, or even write them a quick text message or email. But not with dogs, and I guess that's why life is so much more simple for them.

Anyway, hopefully I haven't lost too many of you with my "dog-talk," but today was a rough day. I got a call from my grandparents, who live just up the street, asking me if I could come over because their 15-yr old german shepard didn't seem to be doing too well. The fact is, he hasn't been doing well for some time now, but I understand this is hard to admit when he is your own dog . So I knew that if they were calling me to say this, it must have been pretty bad, and it was. And as bad as I wanted to, and even tried to, there was nothing I could do, it was very prevelant that it was "his time." He will be missed, and his spirit will live on with us.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. -Anatole France

Growing Pup & Career News

Tank is 13th weeks old now, and he remains to be one of the most incredible pups. Everybody seems to get a kick out of his name, but I don't believe I've shared his full registered name yet, which is way fitting; Kilroy's First Line Of Defense a.k.a. Tank. So here is the more recent photo promised, puppyhood doesn't last long and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Some great news I have to share is that my career search ended yesterday, when I accepted a position as the Gym Manager at a great gym out here. I start Monday and am very thrilled to be a part of this company. And since I have graduated, I am looking forward to being able to put all of my energy into this position. Wish me luck and I can't wait to write more about it.

Once again, I am so thankful for the way life is happening.

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory." -Ghandi

Back Among the Living & Loving Idaho

Oh how I've missed blogging! I've been in Idaho for over two weeks now, and I finally got my internet hooked up today. I absolutely love my house, and am finally all set up. I even decided to paint a couple of accent walls which turned out really nice, and made it feel even more like home.

Cinderbelle and Tank have become best friends and I couldn't be happier with the transition from having only one dog, to having two dogs, especially since one of them is a new puppy, not to mention the fact that I relocated states just one week after getting the puppy. He is the most well-adjusted pup and I could not have asked for more.

I'll be posting some photos in the next couple of days, but I just wanted to say I am doing so great and will be writing much more very soon.

I should also mention that I have been presented with a couple of great career opportunities since my arrival, and will be making a decision by week's end. Can't wait to share the news.

"Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first." -Fredick Wilcox