The Dog Park

Jonathan and I took Briar to the off leash dog park at Marymoore yesterday. He is making a lot of progress in just a few weeks. He's saving potty for outside, and he plays well with other dogs. This made the dog park a blast! He found a four month old boxer that he could play with that was just his size and got in his first little puppy fight, but other than that he played well with every size dog and Jonathan and I had a great time watching and excercising with him. Just thought I'd share a picture from our day...

The Many Moods of Briar

This has been the last couple of weeks....

Briar

Yesterday, January 12th, I brought home a cute Shepard Lab mix. Jono and I named him Briar. He is full of life, full of energy, full of pea and poop and he's wearing me out! He is well worth it :) I've been wanting a puppy for a long time, however, my schedule kept me from getting one. Now that my shedule has calmed down a bit and I have a friend who works in the evenings and is home days, getting a furry best friend is finally possible. I'll keep you posted. He is only three months old, so potty training is in process. Wednesday, Jono and I start puppy kindergarden to help us train her. What an adventure this is, but I can't wait to have a full grown dog who trusts us and that we can go hiking and walking with.

Driven

I was cleaning out my files from 2007 tonight and I came across a paper that was given to me at the close of my Business ethics class that is worth sharing. I also want to record it for myself so that I can just get rid of another peice of paper. Good food for thought...



Character Driven People.........Emotion-Driven People

Do right, then feel good ....................Feel good, then do right

Are commitment driven...................Are convenience driven

Make Principle based decisions.......Make popular-based decisions

Control attitude wtih action.............Control action with attitude

Beleive it, then se it...........................See it, then believe it

Create momentum............................Wait for momentum

Ask, "What are my duties?"............Ask, "What are my rights?"

Continue when problems arise........Quit when problems arise

Are steady............................. ............Are moody

Are leaders........................................Are followers

The Zoo

Jonathan and I spent New Years day at the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a wildlife retreat in the middle of the city and it was so much fun. We spotted some great animals like this pretty she Lion in the picture. There was glass in front of me, but it was amazing to see her so close. I'm pretty sure she was hungry! It was a pleasant reminder of the beauty of God's creation and it was a great way to spend the first day in 2008 with Jonathan Frank Torez Santos. I can't wait to go back.

This year so far...

This has been one of the most full and best years of my life. Wow! Can't wait till 30. Okay, I can wait. There have, however, been a lot of cool things that have happened this year. Let's see. To recap,

I graduated in May of 07

Lennie, my brother got married to an incredibly fun woman named Jill who has amazing fondu nights on Christmas Eve by the way and I gained a very fun new family on her side.

In August of 07 I started my career in Human Resources at Bayview. I can't imagine loving a job more at this point in my life

In October of 07 I met one of the coolest guy friends I have had so far in my life and I have had this amazing November and December.

Family and friends, I want to introduce you to one of the sweetest friends in my life so far, Jonathan Santos, Mr. Wonderful. I'll tell you much more about him later, but I wanted to start with an introduction and a myriad of great pictures from this last month.

Not to mention, that I have spent this year with a connection at a church that I really love and I have had the opportunity to make some great friends who have been such a blessing a long th way. 2008 has been a more full and incridible year than I could have imagined or hoped for. What a ride.

Only in Seattle

We were in Seattle the day after Thanksgiving and I just wanted to share this fun fact. There were guys walking around with signs saying "Free Hugs", and they were really giving them out to everyone. The guy in front of me shouted, "Free Hugs, no hiden agendas, no strings attached!" Really? I'm not sure if they were from an organization or if they were just fun loving Seattle friendly guys, but it was interesting watching others come up and feel very happy to have a free hug. Hey, why not?