High Five for Friday

This Friday I'm up early.  The dog woke me up to go outside at 4:30 am and I could not go back to sleep since I usually wake up around 4:30 am during the work week.  I'm hoping for a nap later today.  Hope everyone had a good week, now onto High Five for Friday

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1.  Danny and I had a nice brunch on Sunday at one of our favorite resturants, Manhatten Bar and Grille.  Since I had the day off, it was a good opportunity to sit and enjoy a nice meal with Danny.  He even let me sit outside for once, he usually doesn't like to sit outside because he gets too hot. We are complete opposites in that respect.  Plus, I need to take advantage of each nice day in Cleveland before it starts to snow again.
2.  I dusted off my GMAT prep book this week.  I have a big decision in my future as far as career goals and where I want to be with my career, so grad school has been on the brain.  I've always wanted to get my masters which is why I bought this book back in 2011.  I need to evaluate my options and see what's best for me before I decide on my next step.
3.  I snapped this shot of Danny and Rosie cuddling this week.  Rosie is usually anywhere that the computer is (as she stares at me while I type this).  Danny says he enjoys football season with Rosie because he will always have the computer on to keep track to fantasy football scores and she will sit with him all day while he is on the computer.
4. Yesterday, I went shopping with a friend and we stopped by Moochie & Co.  I, of course had to spoil my puppy with some new toys, but I also came across this car magnet and had to have it.  I came home with it and Danny was jealous that I didn't get him one.
5.  Danny and I went to the famous Melt Bar and Grilled last night.  It's one of our favorite Cleveland resturants and it's most famous for being on Man vs. Food.  They have amazing grilled cheese sandwiches with anything and everything you can imagine on it.  Some things you wouldn't think go together, but they turn out very good.  I get the same thing pretty much everytime, Big Popper.  Its jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and then deep fried with mixed berry preservatives for dipping.  I didn't say anything about it being healthy, but it is very delicious!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

High Five for Friday

I'm still winding down from last weekend and trying to get back in my normal routine.  Yogi lost his manhood got neutered yesterday and I pick him up today.  I don't know why, but I actually missed that little runt.  Whenever I go somewhere, no one follows me.  It's too quiet when I sleep, there's no panting puppy.  I didn't think I would miss him for just a day, but I definitely do and I can't wait to take him home today.  Now on to High Five for Friday...   

1.  I bought flowers at Heinen's this week.  I love having fresh flowers on my kitchen table.  Since it feels like Spring is winding down, its nice to get flowers before there won't be anymore like them until next year.

2.  My work challenge has officially started this week.  I received my (free) pedometer in the mail and started keeping track of my steps.  I gave myself a goal of 10,000 steps a day which I've heard is a good goal and I actually have to try to get that many steps.  This was my pedometer from Tuesday.  Its easier to get the steps when I have a 5K race on Saturday and I take it with me on my run!

3.  After watching the documentaries last month with Danny, I've been trying to give up coffee.  I can't drink it black, so I overload it with so many artificial sweeteners and creamer that it's not too good for me. I also want to be able to caffeinate myself naturally.  I don't like relying too heavily on coffee to wake me up in the morning.  It's been going really well so far.  I've cut down my normal once a day coffee to now only once a week.  Its a good start for me and having a Starbucks actually in my office building doesn't make it easy, so I'm happy with my progress.  I feel more naturally energized and I have been drinking more natural teas in the morning to wake myself up.

4.  Wednesday was the first time I wore my jacket to work.  It seems to be getting more and more chilly here and I had to keep myself warm (I admit that I had been wearing sweaters to work prior to this point).  I love fall, but I'm sad to see summer go.  All that money we invested in the pool, will no longer be used and I know I will miss summer so much when winter hits and the snow gets here.  

5.  I was blogging yesterday and discovered I had a following... a following of kitties.  I think they like having their baby brother in the puppy hospital. 

Hope you had a good week!

H54F

Today I actually set an alarm and its my weekend, this rarely happens.  I'm only up right now because we are getting ready to take off for the weekend to Put-in-Bay! We are very excited and can't wait to see what this weekend entails.  For now, on to High Five for Friday!

1. We FINALLY got Yogi in the pool! After much hesitation and three of us forcing him in, he finally caved.  I convinced Danny that he is only going to get BIGGER so we should try to get him used to the pool now while we can still carry him! He did very well for his first "swim", the rest of escaped with minimal scratches.

2. There was a sale at Heinen's this week for chia seeds.  After watching our documentaries on healthy eating, I had heard the words, "chia seeds" in pretty much all of them.  The bag makes them sound too good to be true (they call them super seeds!) so I'm hoping all this chia seed eating will pay off.

3. I took Yogi to the vet this week to get a Bordetella shot.  Unfortunately, Yogi's not coming to Put-In-Bay with us and we've decided to board him.  I have to drop him off this morning and I'm not sure how that's going to go.  I feel like a mom on the first day of school, but I have to leave him for 3 whole days!!! I'm going to miss my baby.  Side note: I think his ears keep growing, so I'm not sure if his body will ever catch up, the proof is in the picture.

4. We had our neighbors/friends, Doug and Melissa over for dinner last night.  They are getting married in 1 month and we can't wait to witness their big day! I had given Melissa my recipe for BBQ chicken pizza at her shower, so I decided to make it for them.  Melissa loves kitties as much as I do and even has two little ones of her own (they truly are "little ones", Daisy is still a kitten!).  Whenever Melissa comes over, she loves playing with Rosie and I snapped this picture after they left.  Rosie was exhausted from all the excitement.  Happy kitty dreams.

5. I went to Charming Charlies this week and found this great necklace.  I can spend hours upon hours in that store and still come out with a neutral colored necklace.  I even tried to tell myself not to, but I can't get past the fact that black and white go with EVERYTHING! Hopefully one day I will be more bold in my jewelry selection, but it just didn't happen for me yesterday.

Have you ever tried chia seeds?

Have you ever had to board your pet?

Do you purchase colorful jewelry or stay safe with neutral colors?

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday friends and happy August! Time flies so quickly these days.  I have a jam packed day filled with friends and wine! We are going to the wine festival tonight which is something I look forward to every year.  Hope everyone is having a great Friday, now on to High Five For Friday!

Yogi's picture on the Pet Training Graduates Wall!

1. We went to Petsmart this week to finish up Yogi's last classes since we missed a few.  He learned so much and he is still doing really well.  Since technically his 6 week program ended last week, this week his picture was on the graduate board in the training center! We are such proud puppy parents!

Our Team for Ready, Set, Go 2013!

2. At work this week, there were sign ups for a program called Ready, Set, Go 2013 through Get Active Progressive.  My work does a lot of neat things to motivate their employees to stay heathly and this is one of them.  Starting August 12th, I will compete with members of my team on number of steps, percentage of weight lost, and minutes exercised per week.  This is a friendly competition to get everyone fit and heathly, and boy do I love competition! I created a team and invited my team members to participate with me and everyone I asked, joined in! I can't wait to see what happens in the next few weeks, plus I can't wait to get my FREE pedometer in the mail this week!

3. It is officially August! I made these cute little calenders for Christmas for Danny and I had to have one too! We both keep them at work and it makes me smile at our memories of last year together.  The picture featured for August was taken at our Engagement BBQ we had at Danny's parents house shortly after we got engaged.

Me and Rosie.

4. I swear whenever I have the day off, I am surrounded by two cats and a dog.  As anti-social as the cats can be, I notice when they miss me which is always nice! This is me and Rosie hanging out on Thursday and Teddy happen to be on my lap when this was taken.

Me and Ashleigh.

5. Danny and I went with our friends, Ryan and Ashleigh to a single A baseball game for the Lake County Captains.  It was thirsty thursday and they had 25 cent beer....I love minor league baseball! It was so much fun and I even got a baseball (I didn't catch it, but we were sitting by the scouts, so one of them gave it to me!).  More on this to come!

Photo Challenge: Happiness

This week I started Virtualization training for work, so I feel like I'm back at school again.  I like the break from the normal routine, but it means I have to work Monday through Friday this week which is unusual for me (I normally work Sundays through Wednesdays). This week's photo challenge is Happiness.

I've learned about happiness a lot in the last few years and what makes me truly happy.  One of the reason why I chose the blog title, "happy Wife, happy Life" is because I believe that to have a fulfilling life, you need to surround yourself with those things that make you happy.  One of the many things that makes me happy is my family.  Included in my family are my kitties and puppy dog.  We came home from a weekend at the lake and I was greeted and frankly stalked by the kitties that I hadn't seen for a couple of days.  They would not leave my side and it made me happy to know that they missed me just like I missed them.  Below is a picture of me and Teddy cuddling on the Lazy Boy.  These moments make me happy.

Teddy Bear and me.

Photo Challenge:

Our Pet Family

Danny and I are spending the weekend at the lake with Danny's parents and the puppy dogs! Yesterday while I was eating lunch at one of my favorite places (Brueggers Bagel), I came across this "Real Fact" from my Snapple.  I thought it was funny since Danny and I probably have heard all 110 sounds between our two cats and puppy dog.  

In fact, our animals love to communicate by "talking" to us especially the cats.  I learned on an episode of, "My Cat from Hell" that cats only meow for humans and not to interact with other cats.

I love when our pets interact with us and its just another reason why they are so special to us.

Our pets as babies (Teddy, Rosie, and Yogi)

Teddy, 3 years old; Rosie, 3 years old; Yogi, 5 months old.

The Story of our Pet Family

I ended up getting Teddy in the spring of 2010 while I was still a senior in college.  There was a bin labeled FREE KITTENS and I could not resist this all white kitty.  At first, I thought he was a girl so I named him, Bella.  After his first vet appointment, I decided to save him from embarrassment for the rest of his life and rename him Teddy.  Fast forward just a few short months later and I moved me and Teddy up to Cleveland to start my new job and new life.  After getting a 1 bedroom apartment just me and Ted, my mom convinced me to get another cat since Teddy was showing signs of loneliness of me being gone all day.  I saw Rosie in a pet store shortly after that and I could not get over how cute she was.  She was playful and her personality won me over.  i decided to adopt her that day and boy was Teddy surprised when I came home with her! After a few weeks together, they have gotten along ever since and are the best of friends.  

I got both of the cats before Danny and I even met and when we were dating, I always joked that it was a deal breaker if he did not accept my cats.  Danny loves the cats and they love him (most of the time).  After almost three years with the cats, we adopted Yogi, our half german shepard, half collie mix.  The cats have adjusted well to him (better than we thought at least) and its nice to have a big pet family.  I could not imagine my life without pets and I know that Danny and I will always have furry friends in our lives. 

My first trip to Trader Joe's

So I know I am behind the times, but I went to Trader Joe's for the first time last week. After moving to a new suburb, I have been struggling to find a grocery store that I like and that doesn't completely rip through my bank account. We really like Heinens, but unfortunately it is a little expensive to shop there regularly. On my first Trader Joe's trip, I learned I could get quality organic food without breaking the bank. My coworker had been talking about going for a long time and I finally took him up on it. One of my favorite things I bought is Cranberry, walnut, Gorgonzola salad dressing. It's pictured here with my salad I had tonight for dinner.

Danny and I ended the night with the second game of a four game series of the Reds vs. Indians. It's the battle of Ohio and since I was raised an Indians fan and Danny a Reds fan, it can get pretty competitive. Although, Danny does have sympathy for my Indians since he used to work for them. Our cat, Teddy is enjoying the exciting game and he happen to snag the best seat in the house!