Meet Rufy the Newfy

This is something I thought would never happen. Something I thought I would never have to face. Well I was wrong. I knew Josh had a dog growing up but he never mentioned that he wanted one down the road. My family never had pets growing up....well actually I found a bird in the road that I rescued a long time ago; it survived for an hour. Anyways, its safe to say that I have never been a dog person. I never understood it.

A couple of months ago Josh started yelling Rufus around the house as if we had a dog. Ok weirdo. He then would make different comments such as, "I would love to have a dog to lay by my side; it would make coming home exciting." (awkward pause) Luckily, I know Josh's personality to I shook it off and we both laughed. As time passed he kept bringing up a dog and was looking them up online. One thing led to another and he found a dog he wanted. I was very hesitant and told him NO right off the bat. I tried to warm up to the idea but couldn't. We went to go meet another dog that would be similar to the one he wanted and after I left the house I broke down in tears. I told him I couldn't do it and that I was sorry. Josh being the good sport he is told me it was ok and to not stress about it. He wanted me to know he wouldn't never get a dog unless I was completely on the same page.

For days after that I felt sick. It was like taking Christmas away from a boy. I knew that I would never be able to keep him from getting a dog our entire life so if I was going to do it I had better do it now before kids. I would feel good about it and then question myself. It was a rollercoaster. Finally I decided to jump in and surprised Josh with a powerpoint telling him we could get a dog. He thought I was insane. Once he believed me we moved forward. Josh watched every dog training video out there and followed Caesar Milan religiously. He was going to never make me question my decision to getting a dog ha.

One month later and Rufus was finally shipped to us from Indiana. Rufus is a NewFoundland mixed with a Poodle. These dogs are great with people and really good family dogs. I also liked that they have a mild temperament and don't require a ton of attention.

Driving to the airport gave us butterflies. We knew our lives were about to change. The first night with him home neither of us slept. The dog howled and howled. (seperation anxiety at its finest). After that Josh slept on the couch closer to the dog so he could get up through the night. He was a good sport.

We have now had Rufus for a week and he is the smartest dog. We lucked out! After training he now knows how to sit, lay, and stay. He walks on a leash great and sleeps through the night. Its an absolute miracle. A lot of his success is because we are nazi parents trying to make it so he can't fail. Either way its working. I really never knew I could love something so much. He is the sweetest puppy....except for the times when he tries to hump my leg. REALLY? I can't wait to get him neutered.

 First night home and he is obsessed with that Duck

 Someone is in HEAVEN

 This is right before his bath

 He was a gem and actually loved it

 This is his favorite place in the house to sleep; beneath our table

 We took him to meet Sir Winston. That dog wanted nothing to do with Rufus. Poor guy.

 I can fit inside his kennel. So much for my house looking cute. 

Playa Del Carmen

We took an all inclusive trip with our friends to Playa Del Carmen. It was so nice to have a break from my crazy work schedule. Plus do you know how much I love anything 'All you can Eat'!

 They had different restaurants you could make reservations for and they were all incredible. This is Josh attempting to crack eggs. 

 We spent the day exploring caves, zip lining, and for wheeling

 Gorgeous view from our room

 We played cards every single night. You could say we are a little addicted to Pinochle. 

Traveling never gets old. I think that worries Josh ;-) 

Trying to summarize Fall

Well I have officially fallen off the bandwagon with blogging. I have 4 hours to kill in the airport right now and thought I would do my best to catch up. I no longer live at home...I live on airplanes. ha This has been a crazy 3 months.

My sister liv graduated college and not too long after I was able to throw her a bridal shower. I went with the "Around the Clock" theme. I was a little hesitant to throw her a shower. I am not crafty or creative so I didn't want her to be disappointed. Anyways, I gave it my best shot. That night I remember her texting me telling me it was the best shower she had ever had. It was cute of her to say but keep in mind it was the ONLY shower she had been thrown up until this point haha. The next day she had her good friend throw her one and she sent me pictures of it. Well.....crap.

Josh and I have been enjoying our season tickets to the BYU football games. This game was Utah vs BYU. I don't remember ever being so mad in my life. Josh told me when we got in the car that if I was going to let games affect me that bad he would make me stay home. Can't help that I am a die hard Cougar fan. Ute fans bug me. (most not all)

Domo threw a huge tailgate party for the game that weekend. Marketing put together a drink station booth! I have perfected the Dirty Diet.

In September I went to New Orleans for work. Safe to say its a place I don't care to ever go back to...unless I get to partake of their delicious beignets.

Next I went to Arizona. Nothing like leaving the cold to go to the warm sun. If you work hard you play hard....by yourself at the pool with a pina colada. Yum

I feel like my second home is in Chicago because we do so many events there. I'm not complaining because it has turned into my favorite city. This event was one of our bigger ones. It took a lot of preparation and set up.

Why...lets face it it's impossible to eat healthy on the road. So I am basically a lost cause. I didn't even know creme brulee dougnuts existed.

I do my best to run it off. I always tell Josh that running is easier when you have a gorgeous view. He hasn't quite grasped the appreciation for nature yet. ;)

More desserts with some co workers

Josh surprised me at the airport and drove me to Park City to do some shopping and eat at our favorite place in Heber. Later we drove through the Alpine Loop to see all the leaves. He knows me so well. I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband. We cherish the times I am actually home for more than a week.

When I am home I try to soak up as much time as I can with him and friends. Being away can really make you homesick. I was so glad I could meet up with two of my best friends for dinner. They are both moms now and I feel so blessed to be able to look at them as such great examples. Friends for life.

After my week or so home I went back to Chicago for another event. Marina and I did the best we could to stay warm. We also happened to be there during the Chicago marathon which was way cool. Made me want to do another one and then I bent my knees and remembered why I will NEVER torture myself like that again.

 Soup anyone?

And now for the best part....my sister Isabelle got home from her mission! She served an LDS mission in Germany. It was  I am so happy she is back and am so proud of the person she is today. Her testimony and maturity is so neat to see.

Exactly a week after Olivia got married. It was a busy couple of weeks. Olivia married her sweetheart of 6 years. Will has always been apart of our family since I can remember. I am so glad they tied the knot. Our family got really big really fast.

I feel so grateful to have sisters that I am extremely close with. Having Isabelle home has made us all feel that much more complete.

For Halloween Domo throws a music video party. Each department has to replicate a youtube music video. We did a batman themed video from way back in the day. I decided to spice things up and be a penguin. I figured it went with the batman theme. The penguin joker from the earlier videos lived with penguins...duh.

Trick or treating at DOMO....

Halloween came and out of nowhere Josh told me he really wanted to be Spock from Star Trek. So random! We found some pretty sweet costumes on Amazon; quick and easy. We spent Halloween with my family. We had homemade Clam Chowder and gave ungrateful children candy. Whatever happened to the days when kids were thrilled to get a dum dum sucker. 

Annie and Becca are two girls I work with. We are all attached at the hip. We decided to do a girls night out and ride the haunted chair lift at Sundance. My sister Isabelle told me she went with her friends and it was way scary. I am starting to wonder if she went to a completely different ride than we did. Post mission problems. We won't be going again next year. BORING! 

After an event I went to for work in Santa Clara I flew to meet Josh and our friends Karrie and Lutz in Portland. We decided to spend the weekend there and go see NIKE town. Josh was in HEAVEN. I was in heaven when I heard that all of the employees are advised to work out during the work day. They have a day care for kids and moms are all outside running with their kids. Everyone plays sports and it is on the honor system to get your work done. We were able to do a tour and then shop in the employee discount store. Don't worry we only spent 4 hours in the store.

We went to a famous doughnut place. Pretty creative doughnuts but nothing to rave about. The capn' crunch was my favorite...that being said Krispy Kreme doughnuts are still #1.

We ended our trip with a hike to see some beautiful waterfalls.

The week I got home it was back to the grind. I had to finish up deadlines for Dreamforce. Dreamforce is the biggest event we do all year. It was in San Fran and had 100,000 attendees. Shipping took the entire work day.

 This is the Domo team we brought with us....one hard working crew. Mixture of Sales, Marketing and Executives. 

 This was the street team we put together. We stood outside during the event and passed out free red bull and $5 dollar gift cards to Starbucks. Our goal was to create buzz and branding. We killed it.

 After we got rained on and our feet were blistered we treated ourselves to some hot cocoa. Much needed!

 Domo dinner in San Fran for everyone who helped make this event successful. Below are some of the  girls that make working for Domo amazing. 

This is Chris and I speaking on behalf of Domo. This guy is one of the smartest guys I know. I feel so privileged to be able to travel alongside him. He is the Chief Advocate at Domo and does all of our demos at events. He travels more than I do and I don't know how he does it. You'll never hear him complain. This is one guy that understands the meaning of life. He puts everyone first and is one of the most caring people I know.

Dreamforce took a lot of planning and long days and nights. We did more demos than any other exhibitor and our booth had a continuous line. I have now been with Domo 15 months now. I have lost track of how many cities I have traveled to but I am grateful for all the experiences I have had over the last year. I have a dream job. Everyone asks how Josh feels about how much I am on the road and I always tell them that he never complains and is the best sport. He supports me 100% and I am so grateful for him. 

After a long week at Dreamforce I flew directly to North Carolina. I left at midnight and arrive the next day at 2 pm. Finally landed in little Greenville, North Carolina. As luck would have it my bag didn't arrived. I traveled here to choreograph a hip hop routine for ECU University. Practice was supposed to be at 6pm. My luggage was coming on the next flight arriving at 5pm. It all worked out. I set the routine on them Friday and Saturday. They picked up way fast and I left them with alot of bruises and sore necks. I am glad I can still be apart of what I love to do. If only my body would allow me to move they way I used to. I bend my knees nowadays and they ache. Oh the joys of getting old. Saturday night some of the team invited me to go out for Sushi. 

Hope they kill it at Nationals! Sunday it was finally time to go home... :)