Inspired By Dogs

Today's post is brought to you by Maggie! Or more like me, in the company of Maggie! Let me introduce you:

Maggie says "Hi, bloggy friends!"

I'm slowly but surely getting used to house/dog-sitting. It's nice to have both AC and a canine companion again! Maggie's a silly one--she's a pretty mellow dog, but she LOVES her walks. Last night I took her out around 8:30 and she was one hyper little thing! It's nice that she's a calm dog but she can be playful when she wants. And she's so curious too--she's currently sitting on her dog bed sticking her nose through the curtains because she hears people outside. Can you say "Awwww!"??

Before I get to the most important part of this blog (WILW, anyone?!), here's what Maggie's WILW would look like:

WILW According to Maggles:

• Walks--"Nothing relieves my (non-existent) stress like a nice long walk through the trails behind my house. I love sniffing things and meeting new people. Don't even get me started about squirrels! Liz thinks I'm gonna run off, but I really just want to befriend the little guys! Last night I even saw a bunny rabbit!"
• Beggin' Strips--"After I take walks, I love getting a treat for when I sit on command!"
• Long naps--"Especially on mommy & daddy's bed, or on my bed in front of the window. And when Liz comes home, I love hearing the door open, so I can bound down the stairs and greet her!"
• Sleeping under the bed--"Sleeping with humans is overrated. They hog the bed! When I sleep on the floor, it's like I have a huge bed AND you know what they say--'Hot air rises & cool air lowers!' WINNING!!"
• Liz house-sitting with me--"We all know I can totally watch this place by myself. After all, I AM a dog, duh! But it's nice to have someone give me treats and bones, refill my water, open the door so I can go on walks (I don't have thumbs, ya know!)--you know, this really makes it sound like I'm the one in charge here!"

Not that I have anything wrong with Maggie's Love List, but mine would look just a bit different...

WILW--Liz Edition:

• Housesitting Maggie--I can't help it, she's just so cute. Of course, it makes me miss Archie, who is back at my mom's place, basking in all the overabundance of attention she's giving him. I'm surprised he hasn't gained 10 pounds! Lucky dog... But Maggie is a nice change to the kind of puppy dog I'm used to. She's older, trained, and very quiet. All I get from her is an occasional whine to go for a walk. What can I say, she loves her walks!

Because no post is complete without a pic of my little man.
If you can even find him! Joan(ie) spoils him!

• Leg day--This morning was a leg day, and surprisingly, I kicked butt on 5 hours of sleep! It's been a while (2 weeks?!) since my last leg day, so I felt a bit out of it, but I have been trying to do leg extensions and curls every other day, and leg presses every few days. Not to mention the calves I do every single day. But since I'm out of prep, I feel like my legs are going--cue sad face--which is why I'm working even harder to keep their shape. And I always feel so accomplished after leg day. It's probably the only day where I don't (jokingly) whine to Kevin about going heavy or something hurting, etc.
• August--Okay, so I know it isn't August yet, but it can still make my love list, right? August is when everything falls into place for me. I have my phone interview with my district manager at Loft tomorrow, which means that I'll be officially promoted to sales lead next week! Then the following week, I have 39 hours of training at the restaurant downtown (Hello, nice paycheck!!) plus a bit of sales lead training in the evenings. And cardio in the mornings. If I don't manage to lose a bit of weight in that week, I may have to hurt someone (or more likely monitor my eating more closely). So August marks the end of my financial woes--YAY!
• The Restaurant Downtown--I don't want to disclose the name of the restaurant downtown (I probably already have, oops) in the instance that I say something stupid on this blog and the owners/managers read it before we've really gotten to know each other. But I'm incredibly excited AND lucky to be given this opportunity. The other week when I got to my mom's house at the beach, I got an email from one of the managers addressed to all the bartenders/cocktail servers saying we have to take a online bartending course, BarSmarts. This consists of 4 "modules" and I'm already done with 2 (although they suggest one per week, I did 2 in like 3 days)! It's really interesting stuff and I feel like I'm actually learning while having fun. Then today I got an email from a partial owner asking all the girls for input into the dresses we will be wearing as uniforms. Which reminds me, I have a question for you at the end of this post... But I'm just so lucky and so glad that I have this wonderful opportunity that I can only hope will open up more opportunities for me in the future. This is the second restaurant I've had the privilege of helping get going (okay, the first was a Golden Corral in high school, but I was awesome at my job, and it was across the street from me practically, in a nice area of Va Beach).
• Self-control--If you recall from my post the other week, I was getting nervous about going out drinking etc. While I'm glad I have the opportunity to enjoy summer with friends and have a drink if I so desire, this doesn't mean I jump at every opportunity that I have to drink. In fact, when I went home, my mom bought me some Blueberry Wheat Ale and a bottle of moscato from Trader Joe's. I've maybe  had 2 glasses of wine from the bottle since I got it and I haven't touched the beer. I'm glad that I have the self-control to know what's best for me and to say no if I don't feel like drinking. Sometimes we take advantage of self-control--it's a trait that not everyone possesses and it's one you should be proud to have. (Please note, this is NOT in reference to the Amy Winehouse addiction/death. I am not a fan of hers, but that being said, RIP).

Well there you have it, folks! The last WILW of the month of July. I'm hoping in the next few weeks, the list can include "cooler temperatures"--Lord knows we need them!

Now for the question I promised: the restaurant is going for a 30s-40s blue collar vibe, and the managing partners are a bit stuck on the uniform for the girls (men...ha! Kidding!). Any suggestions for 30s-40s esque dresses that can be bought in multiples?? They sent some pics of shirt dresses and asked for ideas/suggestions. I sent one pic of a Loft dress, but I'm not a big history person...

Their leading candidate. Material = no good

My very similar replacement suggestion via Loft

Another of their suggestions--one of the cuter ones

It doesn't have to be blue/grey. But they're looking for that whole era's vibe (which should be AWESOME!!). Please help so I can send some more suggestions! Google and I don't see eye to eye.

P.S. I tried Smoothie King's newest Lean1 smoothie for $1 today! For your help (and your viewership), here's a link to the coupon. It's only $1 today. But if you go back tomorrow, there should be a coupon to try it for $1.99. They've been advertising it for a few days. It was good, but my fave is still the Gladiator blended with mango and black cherries or strawberries!