Whenever I bring a box into the house, Zoey starts hopping around me, always assuming it's for her. Such was the case when I came in with the January BarkBox last night. I have to say though, this month's box was a bit of a disappointment to both of us. Yes, I understand that Zoey is the leader of toy destroyers, which isn't your normal pup getting a BarkBox. But when I opened the box and saw the toy they'd sent, I immediately thought she'd rip it to pieces within minutes. She did not disappoint.

Pasta is probably one of the easiest things to make. Boil it, add a can or jar of sauce, some sort of meat if you have any at home, some cheese, and you're good to go! This weekend, I made some baked penne with tomato sauce and shredded chicken breasts. I always exaggerate when I'm cooking, so I ended up making enough for an army, or really enough for 6 meals this week, and 10 more that I stuck in the freezer.

Since I was out of town for the holidays, I didn't get December's BarkBox until I returned in January. After opening the box, my nose was assaulted by the smell of peppermint. Somehow I'd managed to forget that the box was likely to be holiday themed, and was not at all prepared for that. Luckily, Zoey wasn't home when I opened the box. However, she did manage to get on the kitchen counter when she came in and smelled it.

PostSecret is a massive community project where people mail in their secrets written on a postcard. A number of these post cards are then posted online every Sunday morning. Recently, the founder, Frank Warren, gathered hundreds of these previously published and new postcard secrets into a book. When I began reading these more than 3 years ago, I loved them because they were mostly outrageous secrets. But the theme eventually evolved into a therapy session. Many secrets today deal with broken hearts and souls for numerous reasons.

Everyone always talks about how there's not enough time to do everything they want. However, Laura Vanderkam challenged that belief. We think of a day as having 24 hours, 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work, and 8 hours for everything else. Among those last 8 hours though, the typical person fits in overtime at work, getting ready for work, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and maybe a workout. When you stop to look at it, all your time's gone.

A little over 2 years ago, I adopted a puppy from Homeward Pet. You can read all about Zoey in a previous blog post. Since rescuing Zoey, I've been a sucker for dogs. Anywhere I see them, I ask the owner if I can pet them, especially puppies. More often than not, I'm rewarded with quite the tail wag. About a year ago, I heard from a friend about a subscription box called BarkBox. Basically, for $19+ a month, you get a box of dog goodies shipped to your front door. I had a subscription for a little over 6 months the first time around, and loved the treats Zoey got. The toys were pretty much worthless, she always managed to rip them apart within minutes. Then I decided to sign up again a couple months ago, but changed her subscription to a "medium-sized" dog, hoping the toys would be a bit tougher. So far so good. She's only decapitated one stuffed animal so far, but has loved the other toys. Going forward, I'll try really hard to do a blog post review of the monthly box, before giving her anything. I'll also update it if she destroys the toy and how long that took.

I remember Agapi Stassinopoulos the most. Since the summit was online only, every now and then, there were some technical issues. Agapi's session fell into that category. The video was so grainy, I could hardly make out her face. She was in a New York hotel at the time, and we could clearly hear the NY life outside. However, despite the technical difficulties, her speech was one of the sessions I remember the most. She was incredibly passionate about the subject of happiness, and clearly wanted to help others be happier with themselves.

After visiting and interviewing at NYU Stern this weekend, I realized that it has been nearly a year since I started my process of applying for an MBA. According to my Amazon purchase history, I bought my first GMAT book on December 24, so really, I'm 15 days short of a whole year. But I won't actually find out whether I'm accepted or not from all schools until January, so I feel pretty comfortable saying it'll be a whole year.

At the end of 2013, just before the holidays, I started thinking of returning to school, debating between an MBA or a Masters in Statistics. I started thinking of why I wanted to change industries, where I'd like to be, and the possibility of moving from Seattle, where I've lived for the last 15 years. I've greatly enjoyed my time at Amazon and the opportunity I had to work with incredible people. But I knew it was time to move on, and chase an industry I was much more passionate about, sports.

One of my favorite desserts is an orange bread roll. While this roll is absolutely delicious and can really be eaten at any time of the day, it's pretty time-consuming to make. However, I'd been craving it for a few months, so I decided to set aside a Saturday afternoon for it. Quick note, I don't regret it!

I want you to know
one thing.

How many women wake up and start getting ready for work, school, brunch, a date, etc and then panic in front of the closet because they have no idea what to wear? It’s ok, you can raise your hand behind your back. I have never been a fashionista, and while I am not color blind, I am terrible at putting together outfits. I have always been a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. However, I have slowly updated my style to include boots, cardigans, pretty tops, etc. But my biggest issue is that when I actually succeed at putting together an awesome looking outfit, I stick to it like gum! And then it defeats the purpose of looking good, since I end up repeating that outfit once a week.

While I decided at the end of 2013 that I wanted to pursue an MBA, it's taken me many months to feel prepared for the GMAT. I took it the first time in June 2014, and just panicked and crashed. I had been studying on my own for about 5 months and apparently that didn't work out. For the second time around, I decided to spend a small fortune and sign up for a class.

Happy National Dog Day!! On Halloween of 2012, I adopted Zoey from Homeward Pet. She had been rescued on a Friday along with two other puppies. That Saturday I went to five different shelters looking for a dog. My initial thought had been to adopt an older, calmer dog, just for companionship. My first stop that day was Homeward Pet.

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

I may have mentioned this already, but I'm an extremely picky eater. I don't eat vegetables, legumes, fruits, and many other things. Although I've been trying very hard to branch out and find healthy alternatives on a daily basis, there are a few dishes that I still fall back on. One of my favorites is salmon. In addition to actually liking salmon, I get the added benefit of it being rich in omega 3 fats and amino acids. Salmon is also an extremely easy and flexible dish to make, as prep time can take as little as 10 minutes and it can be served with a multitude of sides. For this weekend, I chose to go plain, with just some white rice and oven roasted potatoes.

This past weekend I got to take a break from studying and enjoy a beautiful venue with an awesome artist. The Gorge is an absolutely beautiful, natural amphitheater in the middle of Washington near the Columbia River. Not only are the views breathtaking while you're waiting for the show to start, but the acoustics can't be beat.

For numerous years, I was not much of a pizza person. I think that was because my mom loves pizza, so we had it quite often, and I grew tired of it. When I went to college, I didn't usually eat the pizza in the cafeteria, so I started missing my mom's homemade pizza. After graduating undergraduate, I started loving pizza again. She has recently changed her recipe to going off of one presented in a Brazilian cooking show. So this is what we made the other night.