Ketchup.... er... Catch-up.

Hello! Classes are over for the semester and FINALLY I have a minute or two to stretch and breathe. So let me catch you all up on whats new in Jen's World:

✔ Straight A's this last semester.

✔ I received a letter of commendation for outstanding academic performance in the Spring Semester 2014 as well as my name appearing on the official Dean's List. (Go Me!)

✔ I achieved my second certification when I passed the Microsoft 98-349 MTA: Windows Operating System Fundamentals exam. (YAY!)

✔ My dog Emma has had two surgery's this year: The first was to remove tissue from a cyst on her back that burst and get her teeth cleaned and her dangling dew claw (that I always feared would get caught and rip off!) removed. That surgery went fine, but then about two weeks ago Emma tore her ACL and had to have knee surgery. She is still recovering from this - but is doing well!

 ✔ Was told 2½ weeks ago that I am losing my job. (boooooo!) So I have been shooting applications and resumes all over the place. Also not sleeping and crying inappropriately. Yup - I am just a stressball!

✔ Partly because I neglected myself and partly because I just want to get healthier, I rejoined WeightWatchers online about two weeks ago and have been trying to eat healthier, exercise more, and in general take care of myself  a little better.

So  - I have been a busy bee with work and school and dog surgeries, and now that the semester is over I am searching for new employment and hoping I will gain a job that is positioned closer to the IT world than the retail environment I have been existing in. (I don't think screaming at my laser printer counts as "IT".)

I didn't get much time for fiber fun over the last 6 months, but am slowly getting my knitting mojo back and will post about that soon. (But let me say how MUCH I missed the knitting needles!)

Hope everyone out there is happy and healthy!

Busy day!

I had a very busy day today! I woke up at 3:00 this morning and could not go back to sleep so I got up. As is the hazard of getting less than enough sleep, I ended up buying a little something something on-line. (Oops!) More on that when it arrives. Insomnia is getting expensive!

Since I was up early I decided to go in to work a little early. And then I had the "Can't stand my job-idis" hit and ended up taking a half vacation day. (Again - Insomnia and impulse control!) On the way home I stopped at a gas station and filled my car up and got a MUCH needed car wash. Then home to a light lunch and a hello to the hubby and kitty. I then made an appointment to get my hair cut this Friday (WOOT!) and managed to get my dog in to the vet today! Love it when I can get an immediate appointment! So Emma got poked and prodded. She has put on a little weight since last time (She was 34 lbs and is now 37) but she gets less running time in the winter. We are naughty parents and don't take her for many walks. Partly because she is cold sensitive and mostly because we are lazy people.

Emma was great at the vet and is in really good health. She has a cyst that showed up a couple months ago - which they said to watch - but that they didn't think anything needed to be done at this point. So yay for that! I picked up her heart worm and her flea and tick stuff while I was there since there are already reports of ticks! That is insane!

One other thing I did today was to organize my cowl bin. I have this in my closet in my den and it's been just a hot mess. Today I got fed up and dumped the whole thing out on my table and sorted it out. I had not only cowls in here but headbands, a pair of slippers, a pair of leg warmers, several hats, several scarves... it was a mess.

And I have a few things in there that I really should just donate or ... something. I know when I made this pink and black striped cowl I was thinking ooh la la french something. Yeah. I never wear this because it's just straight up a hot mess. This might actually be a cute purse with the right lining? Or a good item to go in the donation bin. :)

 In the end I have all my cowls neatly folded in the large bin and the smaller bin is all headbands and one pair of leg warmers that I had no idea where to put. This is MUCH better! I actually tried on several of my cowls that I didn't love before and found that they look much better (and fit much better) on me now that I have dropped a few lbs. YAY for that!

And to top all this off I hit the treadmill on my new program tonight. I have been struggling with wanting to hit the treadmill lately. So when I was watching the Biggest Loser this week I had the thought of changing my approach to the treadmill. So now I am going to do 5K (which is only 3.1 miles!) every time and I am going to try and do my best every time - pushing my speed and my length of runs and so forth. I am hoping to get to the point where I can jog the whole thing. This is just shocking to me. I spent years telling people I would only run if I had a bear chasing me, and now I am trying to get to where I can run on my own - without the aid of giant hostile wildlife spurring me on! Who the heck am I turning into?!?! :)

If anyone reading this has any treadmill tips or motivations that work for you I would love to hear them!

In the meantime - I am off to a MUCH needed shower. ;)