tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319703392009-06-06T13:54:34.638-07:00Join me in my real-life adventure going from carefree single gal in Seattle to wife and stepmom in Oklahoma City. It's like "Survivor" meets "Trading Spouses"!Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-46091263960661209132009-05-27T15:11:00.000-07:002009-05-27T15:45:19.262-07:00

No, not a giraffe! Everyone should have a friend that makes them feel THIS good. The kind that you feel ridiculously, unreasonably happy to be around. One who doesn't care what you look like, is happy to see you even on a bad day, and you can spend hours talking about anything (or nothing) with. Seriously. I'm lucky enough to have a few in my life, & it is the BEST feeling in the world.After

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-23334607233466915002009-04-12T05:56:00.000-07:002009-04-12T06:06:41.826-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. What can I say, a handicapped wiener dog with a tour schedule and costume changes is a really hard act to follow! I hope you are feeling the warmth of spring by now. In OKC, it is blooming and nesting and pollinating with such vigor that I had to go get a stronger allergy prescription. In honor of spring, I just wanted to share my favorite poem by

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-12568328913180972872009-01-28T13:04:00.000-08:002009-01-28T14:35:39.195-08:00

Hey y'all!After my last post about the Vicktory Dogs, I realized we could all use a little more positive news in our lives. With all the distressing things going on, sometimes you just need a reminder that there are good people doing good things in the world. So, i'm going to add a "positive news" page to my blog (coming soon), & start collecting them there. Some may view this as a denial of how

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-5062488659297792582009-01-10T12:46:00.000-08:002009-01-10T13:35:43.138-08:00

Howdy y'all!!I just happened to pass by a magazine rack yesterday, & was surprised to see a dog on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's the December 29th, 2008 issue, & there is a nice long article by Jim Gorant about the real-life happy ending for alot of these dogs. You can read the entire text of the article online here (skip page 1 if you don't want to read again about the bad situation

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-1812931773411845442008-12-10T08:48:00.000-08:002008-12-10T11:40:18.619-08:00

This is one of the more interesting protests I've heard of recently. In case you haven't heard, today is a "Day Without a Gay". From what I've gathered, this is a grassroots campaign intended to demonstrate how vital gay people are to the economy & the community. Gay people are encouraged to not go to work, but to devote the day to volunteer service instead. Here is an excerpt from their website:

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-49754985603898597902008-10-05T09:51:00.000-07:002008-10-05T18:26:32.811-07:00

Okay, it may be a little late, but I am reconsidering my commitment to attend the University of Washington. The Huskies are okay & all, but I want to be IRISH!!! Notre Dame Fighting Irish, that is. Maybe I can go there for a master's in something like "leisure studies" (e.g. National Lampoon's Van Wilder). It would be worth it just for the football tickets!!While in Indiana on business the

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-31423207981359461772008-09-14T14:51:00.000-07:002008-10-05T17:26:08.574-07:00

Well, this weekend we finally laid our sweet cat Peanut to rest. Back in March he started eating a lot less, lost a lot of weight, & just wanted to sleep all the time. The vet diagnosed him with Feline CRF (kitty kidney failure), & guessed it would only be a couple months. We decided to keep him going with medical treatments, & instead he held out for six months. However, he was in many ways a

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-8996563238900782612008-07-06T08:52:00.000-07:002008-07-06T10:09:15.059-07:00

Anyways, what I REALLY wanted to share with you is the most interesting insight I got from this class. Thai massage is like yoga in that you are working at "the edge" of your existing range of motion, but it takes a gentler approach. Once the therapist places you in a posture (that may have seemed unattainable on your own), you are stretched a tiny bit past your existing comfort level. But, after

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-12096905324823297032008-07-06T06:39:00.000-07:002008-07-06T10:16:44.676-07:00

Hey y'all!I have something really interesting to tell you about now that i've had a little time to digest the whole experience. Back in May I had the great opportunity to take a class on Thai Massage with Martin Misenheimer of Zen Thai Massage, shown in the picture at right. Martin is a fascinating guy (read more about him & his wife Beth here) who just OOZES the loving-kindness and compassion

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-41215860411122818612008-05-09T18:54:00.000-07:002008-07-06T06:37:13.669-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry I've been so long out of touch. The short version is, I enjoyed a blissful month off in March, and in April was happy to go back to school and work. Unfortunately, since April I've been mired in a ridiculous struggle of politics and paranoia that make Henry the VIII's court look downright happy-go-lucky. Forget posting or keeping in touch w/anyone, I was just trying to stay

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-51133174393529060822008-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:002008-03-05T10:02:07.787-08:00

Well, it happened! I finally escaped the Secret Vortex of the Corporate Deathstar (thanks again to Pam Slim and Cubicle Nation). Friday was my last day in corporate banking, and quite possibly as a software analyst too. You'd think being so close to the end would have me skipping & whistling through this last week, but in fact it was the longest week of my LIFE. Each day felt like 100 years

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-47799275113482409132008-02-25T18:17:00.000-08:002008-02-25T18:50:33.442-08:00

Hello again! Sorry i've been absent so long. On top of being busy, for the last 3 months i've been contemplating the future of my blog. A blog expert visited my site, & advised that I really need to focus the topic of my blog--for instance, choose to write about knitting OR technology OR travel-- not all of them in the same week.Quite frankly this threw me for a loop--if I write a blog about

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-70407117858802515052007-11-26T18:24:00.000-08:002007-11-26T18:29:02.466-08:00

Hey guys, a quick update on my mom! We got some great news last week: the pathology report came back after the surgery, & said that the tissue removed was still "pre"-cancerous. Her oncologist was expecting to find active cancer. That may have meant more surgery to remove lymph nodes, & even more chemo treatment, but hopefully we pre-empted all that.The great news is finally(!) mom will get to

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-84086082220720642472007-11-15T20:33:00.000-08:002007-11-15T22:51:09.998-08:00

Hey y'all!If I haven't talked to you recently, the short version is that i'm up in Montesano (near Olympia, Washington) for a few months staying w/my mom. She had surgery related to her cancer, & i'm on FMLA from work for awhile to help out.Anyways, the pictures from my drive up are up on Flickr! I stopped for a weekend in Cambria, a village on the Central California Coast. It was gorgeous!See

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-17520224978483775462007-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:002007-10-19T06:55:11.996-07:00

Hey y'all!Let me start out this post by saying I am the luckiest goddamnned person I know. Some of you have witnessed this over the years, but I don't think anyone else appreciates the full extent of how ridiculously lucky I am. In spite of the ups & downs & hard things that are part of life, every week something happens that makes me shake my head , & say "WOW!! I am so lucky! No one else would

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-46302807252587043562007-10-01T18:48:00.000-07:002007-10-01T19:17:34.614-07:00

This is one of those cute animal stories that ends up burning a path from person to person around the globe. Some people might dismiss this kind of thing as just making people feel better about themselves & the world. My reply is, just what the hell is wrong with that? Thanks to my friend Jeannie at Heartland Rabbit Rescue for sending this to me.---------------------------------------------------

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-16616007447479613152007-09-23T13:57:00.000-07:002007-09-25T18:14:58.760-07:00

Hey y’all!Well, for some lucky people this kind of thing would not be any big deal, but for me it is downright EXCITING--yesterday morning I played in my first ever softball tournament! What better way to celebrate a birthday than by trying something new? About a month ago I got to sign up for the company picnic/tournament only because our department needed a GIRL to make a quota. I was a little

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-85144675018712366682007-09-20T18:58:00.000-07:002007-09-20T19:10:17.588-07:00

Today, the 21st of September is my birthday. I may be about 30 years older now than I was in this picture, but I STILL get just as excited! The great news is, it turns out 36 is way more young and fun than I ever would have guessed.Life is good!!!xoxo,Layla:)

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-8624200797368311252007-09-19T19:57:00.000-07:002007-09-23T08:35:59.594-07:00

Go straight to the PICTURES (mouse over pics to read the captions)Hey guys! Well, something really cool happened last Saturday. I didn't start to get interested in football until about a year ago, but after living in Oklahoma it has rubbed off on me--it's hard not to get swept up in the enthusiasm. After 9+ months of trying to get my head wrapped around this ridiculously complicated sport, I

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-4391964378755385072007-09-09T16:02:00.000-07:002007-09-23T08:37:50.966-07:00

Happy September! Maybe i'm biased because this month is my birthday, but September has always been my favorite month, & autumn is one of my favorite times of year. Something about the hot muggy days of summer easing and the tree leaves turning gets me feeling refreshed & renewed (it's a Virgo thing). That on top of celebrating a birthday feels like the start a fresh new year for me. Usually I try

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-75597508120541775712007-08-26T17:59:00.000-07:002007-08-26T18:20:05.624-07:00

Okay, here's another news item for my "Truth is Funnier than Fiction" file. Leroy Greer of Houston has filed a lawsuit against 1-800-Flowers because he was sending flowers to his mistress & got caught. Apparently he asked them not to send a receipt to his home, but a few months later they sent a thank you note for the order. His wife opened it, called the company & got the order details: 12 long

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-67177127986125019442007-08-19T17:59:00.000-07:002007-08-19T18:06:32.398-07:00

Hey guys! I don't very often blog about technical stuff, but I came across something really interesting. It's a short video of Google's CEO Eric Schmidt talking about the future of the world wide web, & what web 3.0 is likely to look like. These guys at Google have been pretty darn good at predicting the future so far, so this is worth listening to.The short version is, web 2.0 was mostly about

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-76297724651700463272007-08-12T18:46:00.000-07:002007-08-12T18:56:55.326-07:00

A funny followup to my post last weekend. One of my neighbors has a mailbox shaped like an oversized, red and white Sooners helmet. The very next morning after my last post, I drove by to find it had been mysteriously bashed to pieces in the middle of the night. It wasn't just knocked off the post, it was knocked off & into the street, where it was clubbed into about 5 pieces. This didn't look

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-62478434332949858272007-08-05T09:13:00.001-07:002007-08-05T10:36:33.708-07:00

Hey y'all!Well, there's a giant flashing billboard on my way to work counting down the days. Not until back to school or Christmas, but rather the start of a special brand of insanity known as football season in Oklahoma. I've lived in Texas, where they're pretty damn football crazy, & lived in Seattle where there is a pretty passionate college rivalry.... But, neither one even comes close to

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31970339.post-74782434215358339822007-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:002007-07-25T10:05:26.663-07:00

Hey guys!There is a famous quotation saying sports do not build character, but reveal it. After this last week i've had, I think the same thing could be said about moving. Especially in the dead heat of the Oklahoma summertime (groannnnn). Factor in that it's a family of four people plus 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabbit & 15 pet rats, & you can imagine how much fun it's been.We picked up the keys to the

Laylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11379288026098093300layla.fowler@gmail.com0