I don't have all that exciting of a life. That is probably a good thing as not a whole lot of bad things are happening, but then, not a whole lot of good things are happening either. There must be a saying for the feeling someone has when they run around doing a lot of stuff and then underneath it all, nothing is happening. I guess you could say that I'm living my life like someone pressing the broken button on a pedestrian crossing. Yup.

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I just got my new edition on Bark! It's got a lovely hound mix named "Austin" on the from and promises to feature "Techno Dog" "Trend in Health "Human Exotic Vacations" and "Can they Live Longer?". It's the Christmas present that just keeps on giving.

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So, I'm totally obsessed with podcasts, right now. Yeah, I know, right? I might finally be getting on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. I mean like... making things and posting regularly and all that stuff. The problem with me and bandwagons is its sort of like I'm sitting on an old country road and someone turns to me and says, "Hey, did you see that bandwagon? It was great! All these people on it, you should've seen it" and I'm like "Okay" and I start running after it for miles and miles and then when I finally get there I find a bunch of old guys with half makeup on waving at me and taking the ribbons on the wagon saying, "Isn't it great that we can finally get back to using this for hay-bailing" and I'm like, "Oh! Me! Me! I'll jump on! I'll jump on! What do I have to do?"

So, I'm a little behind the podcasting ball. Still, it makes me dream dreams of audio gadgets and fiddling around with different filters... well, right before I start imagining me swearing at my computer. Its like HTML all over again. "Wow, that's sooo cool" and then I learn it and I think, "If I have to check another semicolon or another bracket again, I'm going to rip someone's-" Yeah, about like that.

There is also another problem with trying to start a podcast now... I don't have anyone to do it with me :(....

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So, I have been doing some research on how to make my way in the information technology profession... and the dog training profession, but- I have been asking around about what kinds of things people seem to need and what skills are lacking in the workplace and the one glaring reality is that everyone needs a techie. Straight and simple, everyone needs someone to "put up a podcast" or "spiff up the webpage" or "design a new database system" or "design an app" to solve the problems of the average day.

There are a lot of cool things that you can do with that. One of my brain children, for instance, was trying to use the gamification technology to promote and make dog training more transportable. The idea is, design an app that contains dog training tips.

The first "basic commands" app would be for free. Videos on basic commands would be set up in the interface which would allow you to pause and play with full-picture quality.

There would also be a 'checklist' mode, which would break commands into simpler steps. You would be able to click on a variety of buttons to select the step as being mastered (but also be able to unclick it if it was not working out with you dog as well as you thought). I also imagine that you could have a training pyramid which would show your mastered skills and what skills you could acquire after you mastered the initial skill. For instance, "down" is a prerequisite for "stay" and "stay" is a prerequisite for "time out". Also, "drop it" is a prerequisite for "fetch" and "fetch" is a prerequisite for "get the paper".

At some point, the checklist would have options associated with it that were "greyed out" indicated the paywall. You may complete lesson up through "drop it", but you could by "fetch" as part of the "dog sports" package, which would also include, "fetch a frisbee" "jump a hurdle" and "run through a tunnel", an additional level would be "dog sports- advanced" which would include "trouble with contact points" "weave poles" "balance on my feet". However, "get the paper" which you will still see on your pyramid of tricks would be part of the "Useful tricks" package, which would include "turn off the lights" "get the phone" "get the toilet paper" or "ring the bell" (a trick used to let your dog tell you when it needs to go outside.

Now, I was very excited when I came up with this, but... I need to know how to program apps... Anyone know how to program apps? Or does anyone know how to learn how to program for apps? That would be... cool.

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February is my favorite month. In this month, I have three family birthdays, Groundhog's day, Valentine's Day, Fat Tuesday, and my birthday. It is veritably saturated with holidays. February is so special, you almost feel sorry for September! However, seeing as I've moved for the millionth time in two years, February is also the month when I get to sit back and think about how long it takes to make a friend and how slow it is to get the momentum going. These are my two largest obstacles:

Valentine's Day: As it is celebrated by me, Valentine's day is the cornerstone of my spiritual beliefs as it is the day where we remember why we are here: to love one another. I know that most people prefer to celebrate it with a romantic partner (and God knows that I hope to one day), but it has been with a whimsical child-like fancy that I have abjurred the adult theme of this holiday in favor of giving our little cardboard valentines with chocolate kisses attached. Through high school and college, I would carry these Valentine's with me and give them out as I saw my classmates. Graduating college, I arranged Valentine's box celebrations for my preschoolers. Now, I am school-less and I'm afraid I've run out of time for my childish way of celebrating valentine's day. But what now? I am not going to whip up a boyfriend in the last two weeks before the big day, that's for sure, and I am reticent (although not completely adverse to) being one of those losers who signs up for some singles dating thing.

My Birthday: Uh... yeah. So friend would be nice. I think I want to have a ninja birthday party. It might involve laser tag, wearing ninja costumes, and these adorable party bags I found on Pinterest. I would feel awfully stupid posting it on the meetup board, though... Maybe I can put together invitations. Crazy, first year when I can't just Facebook everyone, where is the world coming to ;)

But that's life. Moving onward, upward. Maybe I can skip a few celebrations this year. Maybe I'll move them to September.

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So, it's the beginning of a New Year: 2013 (aka: the best year of my life). I am willing to take other best years in the years to come, but (seeing as the world has not ended, yet) I am pretty well determined to make this: my lucky number year, the beginning a new, exciting, fun, humble, diligent, kind, chariable, temperate, chaste, weight losing, 5k runnning, fish catching, book writing (*GASP*), recipe mastering, showshoeing, climbing, dickensian lifestyle.

Here are my goals:

1. Reach 138lbs
2. Run a 5k
3. Catch a fish
4. Write a book
5. Master five new recipes
6. Climb a 14ner with a friend
7. Arrange a snowshoeing trip
8. Find climbing buddies
9. Do 5 random acts of kindness
10. Read as much Dickens as possible

Okay... that was fun... now back to the treadmill.

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