The Love of My Life

Okay, so I know what y'all are thinking - first Valentine's Day and now love...WTF? But it's not like that, I promise.

Sure, there'll be some sap involved, but on a whole different level. Keep reading, I promise you won't be disappointed.

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So I've mentioned in the past that I'm not much of a cat person, and since that time I've managed to remove demon cat and her sister from my life completely.

No I didn't off them, my roommate just moved! C'mon people, what kind of person do you think I am?

And you've heard me say numerous times that I'm planning to get a puppy. Well my friends, that time has come. And I'd like to introduce you to my mini dachshund Otis.

(See, I told you it'd be worth your time to keep reading!)

He's an 8 week old smooth coat doxie with what I'm told is the sweetest temperament. And he's already the love of my life.

He'll get to be somewhere from 8-10 pounds, full grown. I don't get to bring him home officially until April, but you best believe I'll be visiting in the meantime.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was more excited about anything.

I'm destined to be one of those dog owners who puts her pup first. Hell, I've already decided that he'll be sleeping in my bed - now that's love.

And I'm certain you'll be hearing lots more about him on this blog, too!

Cheers!

-A

*Thanks to Maryann at Mom's Dachshunds for the picture and my wonderful little man.

Oh St. Valentine

WARNING!! High cynicism levels to follow.

Valentine's Day is coming up - this Saturday to be exact.

Ack! What a stupid "holiday."

Sure, I'm all for celebrating our Saints, but according to Wikipedia: Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name.

Ah, so it IS a Hallmark holiday?! They don't even know how many saints are involved or who this person really was! I think, instead, there should be more celebration of St. Anthony, the patron saint of all lost things, rather than this unknown dude, or dudes as it may be. That'd sure help me out a little more, anyhow, and I'm not even Catholic.

At least the commercials wouldn't be nearly as cheesy - I don't know about y'all but I'm pretty sick of all these jewelry commercials. I wake up singing "every kiss begins with Kay" and go to sleep hearing voices telling me that "he went to Jared."

VOMIT!

My problem, really, is that there shouldn't be a day set aside to tell the people you love that you care about them. Why do you have to be told to do this?

And honestly, I don't need jewelry or flowers from a man to feel good about myself, and neither do most of the women I know. Sure, these things are nice -- please don't get me wrong, I'm by no means saying gifts are unwelcome -- I just don't want them if you feel obligated to do so. Of course, if you want to buy me diamonds or whisk me away to Europe just to show me how much you love me, I'm not opposed in the slightest.

But that's off topic...

This year, Valentine's will definitely be an interesting event as it falls on the weekend. I'm hoping to avoid places with high PDAs like the plague. Of course, the SO has something up his sleeve for the day, but if that's ordering take out and renting a movie, I'm completely content with that. I'm just looking forward to some uninterrupted time together for a change.

And on that sappy note - sorry, out of character, I know - what are your Valentine's plans?

Do y'all despise this day as deeply as I?

Cheers!

-A

Celebrity Spouse

While in NYC this past week, a few colleagues and I ventured out to the bar to celebrate our arrival to the city.

As drinks were flowing, conversation turned to a rather interesting topic: celebrities.

More specifically, the question of the evening was, if you could choose, who would be your celebrity spouse?

We heard everything from Eva Mendez to Common to Lucy Liu. None of which should be a total shock to any of you.

I felt put on the spot for this question - I guess there's never really been a celebrity that just makes me all warm and fuzzy.

So I said this guy:


For those who are not familiar, Derek Luke played Antwone in the movie Antwone Fisher. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it.

This also was the moment where I revealed, in my oh-so-tactful fashion, that I'm into black guys.

Yes, that's exactly how I said it too. "I'm into black guys." As if it was this fact that's as ordinary as my having green eyes. Yipe! Smooth, Ashley. Just what your co-workers wanted to know.

Oh well, cat's out of the bag now.

So I proceeded to mention that my favorite part of the Superbowl was the post-game interview with Santonio Holmes.

(Ugh, he makes me melt.)

And yes, I'm aware that he's a former Buckeye, but his smile totally makes up for that.

I was so engrossed that I completely missed the conversation that the SO was trying to have with me at the time. Zoning out during football - talk about role reversal.

Anyhow, after thinking more about this question, I'm pretty sure I'd change my answer. If I could hand-pick my celebrity spouse, it'd definitely have to be Rob Lowe.

YUMMMMMM.....

Absolutely beautiful.

So tell me dear readers, who is your celebrity spouse?

Cheers!

-A

Dog sitting

I got up at 7 a.m. today. On a Sunday. And I was excited to do so.

Why on earth would that make me excited, you ask?

Well, it's all because of a little guy named Toby. He's a big, beautiful black lab mix.

(See, how adorable is he?)

While a good friend of mine is off looking for apartments in the new city she's about to move to, I stepped up to the plate to puppy sit. Though it's not as if she had to twist my arm.

So I got up and greeted Toby, made some coffee and popped in a movie (Must Love Dogs -- cheesy right?!), but what can I say, with a dog by my side it's the perfect Sunday.

The best part is, I'll be getting my dog in early April upon return from a much needed vacation in the Caribbean. Once my deposit has gone through I'll post some pictures of the little guy...he'll make you melt.

For now, it's back to a lazy Sunday with Toby.

Cheers!

-A

Manhattan is mine!

Okay, so not really, but for the next couple days I'm going to pretend as such.

Today is being spent in the NYC office of my company - and it's exciting. With all the time I spent here last year, I didn't even step foot into the office.

It's quieter than I imagined.

Regardless, I'm excited to be here. It's a beautiful sunny day outside, cold, but still beautiful. The lack of sunshine back home makes me appreciate every bit of it.

Flying in, my side of the plane had the best view of the skyline and it made me melt. I never imagined myself much of a big city girl, but honestly, it just feels so right.

Though I have to say, if I ever had to drive anywhere here I'd be screwed. For someone who prides herself on being a good driver, I'm terrified of this place. What can I say, cab drivers scare the bajeezus out of me.

Long cab rides are another downfall of the city. Granted, natives most likely travel by foot or subway most days, but having to ride from LaGuardia into Midtown in rush our makes anyone with a weak stomach a little on edge. I want to vomit just thinking about it.

But enough with the negativity....

It's time to enjoy my stay here and get something accomplished. Let's just hope I can find time to make a quick stop at Chelsea Market for one of those amazing milk shakes.

Cheers!

-A

Learning about myself

So far, 2009 has taught me a lot about myself. Between the ups and downs of stress, training, work, and attempting to keep resolutions this past month has really opened my eyes to some of my little quirks.

Here's what I've learned so far:

I'm a much more patient and understanding person than I give myself credit for. Though when it comes to laziness or incompetence, I'm still pretty intolerant.

I love cooking. If I could afford it, I'd move to New York City and go to culinary school.

Even the smallest compliment acts as a great ego boost for my day.

As I get older, my procrastination gets worse. Though, in my defense, it's not because I don't want to do these things - it's more about not having enough hours in the day and having to choose.

I need frequent change in life. If it's not something drastic like moving across the country (again), you'll probably find me at the salon changing my hair color (again), or traveling, or testing out a new workout class. I get bored easily.

Yoga keeps me sane.

Hard as I try, I don't drink enough water. With all the coffee and tea to fuel my workday it's no easy task to replenish. And I hate buying water at the store - I hate lugging them in and it's just so environmentally unfriendly it hurts.

I still have no idea how to balance my career with my personal life - and still attempt to do it all.

When I'm down, the best thing is a good quote from The Office:

"If it were an iPod, it would be a shuffle." ~Pam

"Oh well. If they're not together now, then they probably never will be. I thought they would be good together like PB & J. Pam Beasley and Jim. What a waste. What a waste." ~Kevin

"I'm not insightful enough to be a movie critic. Maybe I could be a food critic. These muffins taste bad. Or an art critic. That painting is bad." ~Andy

"Yeah. Right. I filled him full of butter and sugar for fifty years and forced him not to exercise. Now take a lesson from Stanley and jog on up here and sign this, okay?" ~Dwight

"Jim, you're six eleven and you weigh ninety pounds, Gumby has a better body than you. Boom roasted. Dwight, you're a kiss-ass. Boom roasted. Meredith, you've slept with so many guys you're starting to look like one. Boom roasted. Kevin, I can't decide between a fat joke or a dumb joke boom roasted. Stanley! You crush your wife during sex and your heart sucks. Boom roasted. Oscar, you're gay! Andy Cornell called, they think you suck! And you're gayer than Oscar. Boom roasted!" ~Michael

"Guess what? I have flaws. What are they? Oh I donno, I sing in the shower? Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I'll hit somebody with my car. So sue me-- no, don't sue me. That is opposite the point I'm trying to make." ~Michael

"One day Michael came in, complaining about a speed bump, on the highway... I wonder who he ran over then." ~Jim

Yeah, I could do that all day.

What have you learned about your self so far this year?

Cheers!

-A

Super Blog Monday

It's tired out today.

Given that it's the day after the Super Bowl and there was an hour long special of the The Office post game, I definitely missed out on all 7 hours that my body demands.

So I thought today I'd take a few moments to acknowledge some of the latest, greatest group blogs out there at the moment. Because, let's be honest here, they're way more entertaining anyhow.

Who's Your Dachshund - of course, I'm completely in love with this blog. With ten bloggers owning 15 mini dachshunds I've already learned so much about being a puppy owner. Oh, and I love that I get to look at cute pups with each new post!

Misty and Sydney over at Indecent Disclosure - not only are these girls salty and hilarious, we can all relate to what they've got to say. It's all the things us girls want to talk about but just don't have the cojones to say on the interwebs.

Courtney and Christina over at Sex and the Traveling Satchel - more on love, sex and the life of two 20-something BFFs. A must read.

So if you have a chance, stop by and show some of these bloggers the love.

Cheers!

-A