Pet Names for Pets

I've been spending lots of time with my dog, Harry, a lot lately...for whatever reason, he's not hating me for making him hike.

In that time, I realized I call him mostly by pet names, not his name...and in a little bit of a baby talk voice. Don't judge. You would to with a face like this.


So, I compiled a list, for your entertainment of the names that I have caught myself calling Harry.

1. Harry (duh)
2. Poopers
3. Poopy Puppy
4. Harry Carrey
5. Harry Pooper
6. Harry Pooter
7. Prissy
8. Princess
9. Hooba
10. Hooby
11. Hoobastank
12. Baby Cakes
13. Poopy

And, you might be thinking, if you know me well, that I would call him Harry Potter, but you would be mistaken. His name comes from his old man eyebrows and the need for an old man name.

I'm surprised Harry listens to me at all with all of his monikers. I can't blame the kid for ignoring me...sometimes.

Impromptu 4.5 Day Weekend

OK, so the first 1.5 of those days I was laid up and sleeping/reading. For you bookworms, I was re-reading Twilight and Midnight Sun simultaneously...meaning I read one chapter in Twilight, then read a chapter in Midnight Sun. Awesome effect and making me love the Twilight series even more...except for Stephanie Meyer getting all cranky about the leaked version and swearing she's not going to finish it.

The rest of the weekend was phenomenal, though. I was able to see a sunrise, visit with family, and even went on a hike with my dog Harry. The trail was pretty easy, but nice to get out to enjoy the gorgeous weather and surroundings that are nearby - just outside of Boulder.

Before heading up, my friend Chelsea and I gathered up the pups and were told by her fiance to "stay low" because of the wild life and the dogs. Chelsea and I looked at each other and laughed...Chelsea and I like to be outdoorsy mostly in the sense that we like to have happy hour on patios. But, we assured him that we would be taking an easy route because with prissy Harry and two wiener dogs, we weren't going far. Well, the irony was that we did run into some big game. Two huge brown bears were fairly close to the Park Ranger's access road. Like, 100 ft away, if there weren't a deep ravine between us. At first, we thought that the two bears were wrestling and playing, but then, well, um, it is spring time, and apparently that was a wanna be cubbie-daddy bear and a potential cubbie-mama bear. Gotta love nature.

Here's to a great week, spring time and loving life!

Too. Freaking. Cute.

Chelsea, third of four brides for my wedding season, is tying the knot in August, I'll be celebrating her bachelorette-hood in Vegas in a couple of short weeks. Of course, there are pomp and circumstance that revolve around a wedding, like a wedding shower. Below, is Chelsea's super cute invites from their family friend.



This theme will get her prepared to expand upon her domestic goddess-like qualities and hopefully more blogging fodder for A Domestic Cupcake!

For now, I'll be kicking up my feet as I have only 8-ish work days over the next 24 days...rough life, I know.

I will have posts-a-plenty over the next several weeks as I will be in Indianapolis for the Indy 500, where I have been promised a White Trash Scavenger Hunt. Then, onto Boston and Cape Cod for a wedding and time with one of my oldest friends...think kindergarten & Brownies old. Then there's Vegas - 'nuff said.

Yep. I'm That Girl.

Ok, well, more "I'm that idiot."

So, I was in the courtroom today and part of my duties are recording the session and marking a sheet with the tracks so that they can be downloaded. As I was pulling the sheet out of my stack in my arms, I pull up and out with flourish.

And when I say flourish, I hold sheet taut enough to become as sharp as a knife edge. How do I know it was as sharp as a knife? I dragged said edge across my eye. You read that right. My. Eye. I have a paper cut on MY EYE.

You would think that if you felt an instant burn from the paper A) touching your eye, or B) cutting the cornea, you would stop all movement. Or close your eye. Or pull the paper away from your face. But I? Am not your ordinary girl. I am special. I am awesome. I am? That idiot.

I went across the street (I'm now think it's destiny that I have a Starbucks and an eye doctor across the street.) to see the doctor...he put an anesthetic/dye in my eye and took a look with his fancy eye looker-thing. His exact quote, "Huh. Well, how about that? You do have a paper cut on your eye. In all my years of practice, I have never seen that."

So, my mom had to pick me up from work, took me home and now I'm kicking it like a thug on my couch. I have to wear sunglasses so I'm not squinting a la Popeye. Although, now, the anesthetic is wearing off and I'm getting light sensitive from drops through my sunglasses. I see a nap in my future.

I bet your day is going better than mine. If it's not, the stars are stacked against you girl, get back in bed. (Name that tune for 5 cool points.)

Wedding #1 of the 2010 Wedding Season

My first wedding for the season took place in Lamar, Colorado. It's a small-ish town in Southeastern Colorado. They have a wind farm. They have a Super Wal-Mart. It's big time.

The weekend started out with picking up one of my partners in crime, Kristin, at the airport and then the 3.5 hour drive to the sticks...nothing like being in a car for 3.5 hours gets you caught up. The rehearsal dinner was a nice little BBQ at the bride's parents' house in an even smaller town: Holly. It's the hometown of former Colorado Governor Roy Romer.

The wedding day was nice little sunny, but chilly start. Making sure that the beer I was about to receive didn't hit me like a ton of bricks, Kristin and I went running and I did a little yoga while she kept running - she has a half-marathon this weekend. We got to relax a little, too before getting ready for the party.

It was a long reception...about 6 hours...so, after the usual pomp and circumstances of a wedding, I managed to dance (and drink) my face off in heels until about 2am....here's how the weekend ended:

Kalyn Wedding Weekend Injury Report:
Random bruises - 6
Numb toes - 4
Scrapes - 0
Shots of Patron - 7
Beers - questionable
Hangovers - 0.
Nice work, team. Nice work.

The best part about this wedding? It's tradition for the bride and groom to ride a goat around the dance floor. You read that right. Ride. A. Goat. Not one to disappoint, a family friend made sure to have a goat on hand.

Ketchup Catch Up

Back in school, like, way back to second grade, I always thought that my teachers were saying that we were having a "Ketchup" day. Meaning, that we had one day to get caught up on all things that were still out there. (I never had anything to do because I was a hard core nerd on completing all my school work at that age. Fast forward to college and I discovered procrastination.) It never made sense to me why we would have a Ketchup Day, when we should have a Catch Up Day. On a related note: this probably explains a lot of my hearing to understanding words problem that I have...Michael McDonnell was not singing, "...bring me Empire love..." but, as I was corrected and made fun of by my roommates, he wanted a "higher love". Googling lyrics is a regular occurrence now. Anyway, onto the ketchup.

I am officially addicted to twitter and foursquare
Jen Lancaster is my favorite author. So, when I found out I could get a steady stream of her thoughts, I had to join twitter...from there, I consulted my ever so techie friend about foursquare and instantly fell in love with the fact that I earn points to become Mayor and earn badges. It's like making a game out of my social life. I have a goal to be Mayor of my local Starbucks and steal it from a Scott L. Not that I'm obsessed.

I never realized how much of a stalker I really am
I have signed up to follow over 50 people in 12 hours I was awake and able to tweet yesterday. I have some friends that tweet, but mostly, I'm following celebrities. And that's really read: stalking. It's like a little piece of their life as it happens rather than me reading about it on Perez or People. It's sickly addicting to see what Steve Jobs or Kim Kardashian is up to. (No. I am not ashamed of either of those.)

People are idiots
We have a had string of sticky fingers in my office. Not that this is unusual for an office, but for Hey Zeus Christo's sake, I work in a SECURED, FEDERAL COURTHOUSE. We have cameras everywhere. We have federal investigators. Was that change and boombox really worth the federal, criminal charges that you are about to receive? You better hope that was the best Ding Dong of your life.

Sage Advice Based in a Bachelorette Party

When returning from a bachelorette party, remove all party favors from your purse.

• I went to a bachelorette party in Keystone over the weekend and naturally, there were some phallic straws. Well, somehow I had one in my purse when I came to work this morning. I work in a federal building. Where they x-ray and screen purses. 'Nuff said.

When traveling, always be prepared.

• While in Keystone, I managed to curtail my junk food binge (read: ate smaller portions of said junk food interspersed with fruits and veggies.) However, that junk food makes for a rumbly tummy and heartburn. Tums Smoothies were consumed en masse when I returned home. I also managed to randomly have a deck of cards and multiple sizes of safety pins. Booyah.

Anytime you have to chance, you should fall in love.

• You know how girls are. We chat. And when we're getting together with some adult beverages for a reason to celebrate impending nuptials, we're going to get a little mushy and lovey-dovey. So, naturally, you become an idealist and a romantic and realize that anytime you have the chance to take that leap of faith, you should do it.

The grass isn't always greener.

• Just because your perception of someone is that they have it made, there are cracks in the porcelain surface if you look hard enough. You should realize that you've got a pretty sweet yard. Even though you have to mow it (this week in a circular pattern, next week, it's diagonal, third week opposing diagonal - not that I'm bitter from my chore as a kid, Dad...) and make sure that you water it, you can always lay down and enjoy that fresh cut grass smell (once the sun dries it...but then again, a nice big blanket can help, too.) Basically, I have a pretty sweet and charmed life.

Tell those around you how much you appreciate them.

• Too often, we can become complacent with how others in our lives really make it the charmed life we lead. Without the generosity of my family and friends - monetarily, time, love, etc. - I would be pretty lame and way too self-centered. These are the people that keep you in check from turning into someone with a dark heart. Make sure that you let those around you know how much you are grateful for their kindness throughout your day. Every. Day.

Every journey begins with a single step.

• And that step sometimes has to be repeated throughout the journey. You're going to have to break down to the basics to replicate success. Whether it's drinking water absent mindedly or reminding yourself everyday of one thing you love about your significant other when all they seem to do is annoy you. It's not going to be an easy road. No matter what your journey is for. You are going to have to keep on keeping and remember what your motives really are. You meant something when you started, just remind yourself that you do have purpose even when it seems that there's only miles of cobblestone ahead of you and all you have are 5" stilettos.