The first morning....

I woke up at 5:30, the same time as my husband to go to yoga. The class starts at 6:00 and goes until 7, all the mornings I've gone, I have the sunrise waiting for me when I get out. That was not the case today. I realized this morning that its getting to that time of year, where the sun comes up late and goes down early, you feel like you don't get enough done during the day. However, sometimes when I'm up that early I like it, I feel like I'm out in the city before it has had a chance to wake up. Lincoln is funny like that, it tends to wake up and get moving whenever the sun comes up and tends to get sleepy when the sun goes down (well, except if there is a night game).

Since I've been here for graduate school, I've had a new appreciation for this town and my home state itself. Its the kind of appreciation you really don't have until you move away and come back.

Wow, I'm rambling! Gotta jet.

Sometimes I just don't know

I couldn't wake up this morning, having appointments at 8:00 are not good for me. I had to miss my hot yoga class *gasp* for this. Stupid root canal.

On the blog cupcakesandcashemere.com, Emily asked what our biggest faults are. It got me thinking, I tend to be negative. Once something doesn't go the way I expected it to go, I automatically get grumpy and all negative. Work the past couple of weeks has been testing this fault of mine. I've decided that it takes more energy to be negative, impatient and downright unpleasent than it does to be positive.

Do you ever have these moments? Where you just get angry and then the rest of your day is cast in a negative light?

Awesome Weekend!

I had a wonderful time in Minneapolis with my mom and sister. It was beautiful weather and we had so much fun eating out and exploring her new city. I have to say I'm kind of jealous of her, she lives in such a cool city. There is always something to do there. I will post the few pictures I took very soon (I still haven't downloaded them onto the computer).

On another note, I finally got wedding pictures uploaded onto my computer! I thought my CD player on my computer was broken but it wasn't, just needed to rip the sticker off the DVD.

One of my favorite things (and there were alot) on my wedding day was my bouquet. I looked forward to seeing it that day, I held it the rest of the day and I'm not sure how I didn't lose it that night. Never the less, I hung it to dry while we were in Hawai'i, and now dried it sits in a vase on my dresser in the bedroom.

Top Photo Credit: The Leekers:)

One of those mornings....

I woke up this morning and went to HOT yoga (not Brikam, they explain this in the yoga class description), came home at 7 and decided I needed a treat. I reached for the coffee pot, then I decided to utilize an awesome wedding gift.....my french press!

I love my kitchen, Mark hates it. Our house was built in 1947 and I think it still has the original cabinates. He wants new ones, I cannot stand the fact that he wants rip them out and put new ones in. The only thing I wish we had different was a bigger oven so my new cookie sheet will fit, along with a different sink. This is where we put our mugs which is above the sink. I love how simple and classic our new dishes and silverware are. P.S. the cow creamer was Mark's registry item.

I get to go to Minnesota tomorrow to visit my sister! I'm so excited, I never been to Minneapolis and I cannot wait to see her big girl house. But, before that I have to do well on my food micro test.

One of the best things

I love showing horses. Anyone that knows one thing about me is that I'm completely and utterly horse crazy. I love everything about it, the amount of dedication it takes (read: time) to the finishing touches of a winning performance. Although I have yet to master the latter, that is what keeps me going with it.

One of the best things about showing (or one of the worst, depends on who you talk to) are the clothes. Western style clothes are the best. You see, even though I have the "hot" all black outfit, which consists of startched black fitted button down, black chaps, black hat, and black/white/purple saddle pad, I love the sparkle.

This is my new showmanship outfit I made for next year:

I love the waist detail, when on, it looks amazing!

This is one of my horsemanship shirts, pink isn't really my thing, but I snagged it on sale.


Sometimes I go to my closet and just stare at these pieces. I just love the sparkle, brings out the 5 year old in me:)

New Obsessions

Ok, I've recently become obessed with a new blog: www.cupcakesandcashmere.com. Emily, the blog creator is simply fabulous and I love her fashion, cooking and decorating tips!

I broke down and uploaded my pictures from Hawaii, below are some of my favs in no particular order, except for the first pic (which was supposed to be the last!). Fall is here and the evidence is on my kitchen table!

Bahhh!

I'm so bad about this! I need to update this thing more often, though those close to me know what is going on.

I'm MARRIED! I'm now officially, Mrs. Didde, or as my friends like to call me: Double D. Soon, I will be Dr. Double D, too bad I didn't go to medical school and become a plastic surgeon, instead, chickens will have to do.

Ok, I will update this thing later today, I promise, but I really need to work on my seminar that I'm giving in a couple of weeks. I'm horribly behind on it, but I will catch up I just know it!

Later the same day....

I told you I would edit this thing! I started blogging at school when I realized that I needed to really get some work done, so I promptly got off the computer.

Rewind to June....

The wedding....was fabulous! Though I'm biased, I'm sure that all have seen the pics taken by the oh so wonderful photographrs the Leekers (www.theleekers.com). It was a complete whirlwind of fabulous friends and family.

Hawaii was everything and more, I would post pics from our vacay if they were on my computer. Yes, our vacay was 3 months ago and I still haven't sorted through the 300 plus pictures between Mark and I. I'm saving it, for some dreary fall day. You know, the first fall day that chills you to the bone, where all you want to do is sit in a chunky sweater, on the couch with tea, watching Sex and the City or something else that is increadibly girly.

Anyway, I'm saving the pics for that day. That way, when I'm freezing I can be whisked away to Hawai'i. P.S., if you haven't been there, make it a lifetime goal. It is truely everything everyone who has been there says it is. Though, it is expensive, save your pennies so you can enjoy some awesome seafood, and island food in general. The weather is fabulous, the ocean is blue, and you feel like you are in a different country, however you are safe, it still the U.S.! Seeing that state gives you an appreciation for America!

Ok, enough of that. I went to my last paint show of the season in August. We had a decent show, but still have a slew of things to work on. Good news is that we have made HUGE strides in our training. Plus, my show wardorbe is set for awhile with some fabulous pieces. One of my favorites I scored on a massive sale at www.showmeagain.com, the other I got custom made. It was my first custom made piece and is totally worth it. The design is different but classic and fits me like a glove.

I will post pictures of all this soon. Have a great weekend!

Its been awhile....again

Hey! Well I did it, I ran my first half marathon! It was the most mentally challenging 2 hours and 29 minutes of my life, but I did it. It was so much fun that I think Jill, Eric and I have Mark convinced that he needs to try it next year. It was also so fun and addicting that I signed up for a 10K at the beginning of June the goal being that I need to keep running until the wedding. I also want to keep running after the wedding, so hopefully I can keep the motivation going.

School is going well, we are really busy. Its so funny, the summer is when most people think I slow down and have a whole bunch of time on my hands when actually its the opposite. We are starting a bunch of new studies right now and getting everything set up for my study along with two other people's studies. Its crazy right now but once birds are in and everything is done we will wonder why we freaked out so much.

As for horse showing, its on hold right now:(. There is a show this weekend in Fremont I would love to go to but it just didn't work out. I won't show again until August but hey that is ok, its hard because showing can consume you but I have to keep everything in perspective and realize that its not just me anymore. Its ok though, I wanted to get my feet wet again this year and hopefully next year go out and show a lot more. I would really love to hit up some of the bigger shows, but we will see what I can afford and if my mom ever teaches me how to drive the rig.

Other than that, wedding planning is chugging along. Its about to get nuts up in here, but I'm really excited for it!

That is all I have for now, peace out!

Right when I get in the groove...

I'm training for my half marathon. I'm (finally) addicted to running, then BAM! On my long run this past weekend, I had this hot stabbing pain run from my knee up my leg and back down to my knee. I just about fell over on the MoPac trail in pain, the pain from my knee and biting my tongue so I wouldn't scream F*%^ at the top of my lungs. I was halfway out on my run. I had to hobble home. Muttering profanities all the way. I'm pretty sure I freaked some people out. Here was this red faced sweaty girl with her ipod blaring, muttering and stringing curse words under my breath that sailors probably wouldn't dare say. Yep, pretty sure I scared some people, while also making an old runner laugh. At least I made someone laugh.

But, at least this week is recovery week in bootcamp, which translates into yoga along with low intensity workouts. I'm putting ice on my knee twice a day. I'm going to try and run 1 mile (pathetic I know) on the treadmill (gasp) at the rec tomorrow and then try and bike for a little bit. Hopefully I can run 2 miles, but it all depends on the knee.

As for school, I'm getting my manuscript ready to publish. I'm pretty stoked about this, I'm hopefully going to be published soon. I know I need to edit my paper more to shorten it, but hopefully my advisor will help me with that and I'll get it in before the end of the semester. That is the goal at least. We are still waiting for price quotes on equipment for my research and my one class is going well. All in all I'm just hanging out, especially this week since I don't have class.

Charlie is going really well. We still have a lot of stuff to work on but hopefully we will be ready by the end of April for our first show! Will keep ya posted on that one:)

Have a good night folks!

Its been a LONG while....

Wow, its been so long since I last posted on this thing! Last semester flew by, I apologize for not writing like I should have been. You see I had a good reason, I was writing and editing my thesis. I have officially become Master Dana, I have the piece of paper now, they can't take it back!

This semester is going well. Just getting started in class, I'm taking one class this semester. I'm such a slacker from last semester, but I was supposed to take 2, but one was cancelled. I'm also getting my Ph.D. project ready and also getting my manuscript ready for publication. Its going to be another busy semester with the wedding coming up in June, getting a trial ready and getting a paper ready to be published. I'm up for the challenge though! You all know I've faced busier semesters than this and made it out smelling like roses and with sanity semi attached.

To add to this craziness, I'm getting back into the paint shows and training for a half marathon. Yes, you read that right, I didn't think I had enough on my plate so I added more. I bought my first show top in a long time. This means I have a dollar commitment in getting Charlie ready for our first breed show in 5 years. In addition, I'm still doing my bootcamp class (though I was a bad girl and skipped today, hey I couldn't get to sleep last night and 4:30 comes quick!). Combine all of this with running 4-5 miles two days a week with a long run once a week followed by a short run (2 miles or so) leads to one busy me.

Though a lot of this sounds nuts, I'm really excited for all the changes and challenges coming this spring. I'm excited to get my very first paper published. It will be a lot of work, but it will definately be worth it. I'm also really excited about my Ph.D. project, its really applicable for industry and its going to be really cool. More on that to come. I'm also going to knock something off of my bucket list this year, and that is run a half marathon. I'm mostly doing this to get into really good shape for the wedding, I'm also doing this to prove to myself that I can do it. I never thought I would be able to say 3 miles is an easy run, but I am. I ran 4 yesterday, it was hard, the last half mile was really hard. But, nothing like Won't Get Fooled Again to push you through your last half mile.

I'm going to try my best to document all of this in this blog. Stay tuned.