Sleeping off a full puppy belly.

I'm so happy. My Izzy is finally feeling better. Since I brought her home, she has suffered from an upper respiratory infection. She has been miserable...coughing and sneezing and with a runny nose. Poor baby. The vet put her on a super-strong antibiotic last Tuesday and yesterday, she started acting like an ornery puppy. David, who is taking summer classes, uses my apartment to study between classes. He came in after his class yesterday to find Izzy running loose. I have her blocked into a corner of the kitchen, with potty pads and her cage, and enough room to roam around. Apparently, there was not enough room to roam around and she decided to explore a little. When I found out that she had escaped, not once but twice yesterday, my response was, "oh no, do I have Izzy droppings all over the apartment?" David assured me that Izzy was a good girl and used her potty pads...so how can I be mad?

Louie as a puppy.......

and Izzy......

More Izzy Pix

Izzy and her big brother sleeping in the back seat.

Izzy's favorite position when riding in the car.

Izzy's favorite place to sleep (on David's head).

IZZY PIX

Here she is shortly after she came home with me.

Here you get an idea of how small she is!

Over the past week, her ears have gone from floppy to standing straight up!

YAY ME!

Today, I learned that I was awarded $3,000 in scholarship money from the Delaware County Community Foundation and the Gooding Trust! Kind of makes it okay to have only won $1200 from Miss Ohio ($1000 for the Miss America State Academic Scholarship for having the highest GPA).

Also, on the news front.... .... I HAVE A NEW PUPPY! Her name is Isabelle (Izzy for short). She is 3 months old, weighs 3.9 pounds and is a West Highland White Terrier, just like Louie. Louie is not too thrilled with her, but tolerates her nicely. Izzy will live with me in the apartment and Louie will live with David out in the country, where he has been raised. Louie tried living with me, but he missed the open spaces of country living. Izzy promises to be much smaller than Louie and is already potty pad trained. She is so smart! She is currently battling an upper respiratory infection (just like Louie did when we first got him). She is too cute. I will post pictures as soon as I can get her to hold still for a few seconds!

This is an awesome photo taken by Abby Bollenbacher's boyfriend, Loren,

during my talent at the Miss Ohio pageant. Loren took several photos of

Abby (duh, obviously) and all the contestants. I must say, he is very, very talented!

I know I promised a non-Miss Ohio blog, but I have been asked many times why I will not be trying again for a shot at Miss Ohio next year. First and foremost preparing for Miss Ohio took up ALOT of time and money. Because it was my first year competing, gathering competition wardrobe is essential and, need I say, expensive if you plan to do it right. This wardrobe inevitably needs to be tailored, again another expense. My talent involved renting a dance studio (because the dance studios at Ohio University are only for dance majors -- really a stupid policy, but I digress)...another major expense. Along the way, there were expenses...little nickel and dime things, but, eventually these add up.

Now, let me talk about the time commitment. My time is a very important commodity and pageants take up a lot of time..preparing for interview, talent, fitness, etc. Had I not accepted an internship during spring quarter, I would not have had the time to prepare for Miss Ohio. Now, entering my senior year, my time is even more valuable. I have research to complete and evaluate so that I can finish writing my honors thesis, a requirement for graduation from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University.

For me, the entire Miss Ohio experience was okay. It wasn't outstanding and it wasn't horrible. I didn't walk away with the feeling that I absolutely, positively HAD to compete again next year. Then, after assessing my priorities and goals for the next year, there was no doubt in my mind that I would not be returning to the Miss Ohio stage.

So, there you have it...my explanation.

INAUGURAL POST

Hello everyone and readers of my old Miss Ohio blog. I decided to start a purely personal blog, one that has absolutely nothing to do with Miss Ohio. So here we are and WELCOME!